From: Sent time: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Howe, Amanda Monday, April 23, 2007 3:09:08 PM Dominic Martin <dominic.martin@fco.gov.uk> Leighty, Bill Queen's speech to General Assembly 05 1 03 Virginia Assembly (Amanda edits).doc Dominic Here are some suggested edits for The Queen's speech. Hope it helps. Amanda
SPEECH BY HM THE QUEEN TO THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY Governor Kaine, Speaker Howell, President Pro Temp Chichester (CHITCH-est-er), Members of the Virginia General Assembly, Former Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen (this ought to cover it unless Congressionals are there) Thank you for your generous welcome to Virginia and to Thomas Jefferson s splendid Capitol. Prince Philip and I are delighted to be here today. I would like to pay tribute to the many people who have been involved in the painstaking and beautiful restoration of this marvellous building. Jefferson s career offers a model for public service that few in history can match. Governor of Virginia at the age of 36, Minister to France in the years following the Revolutionary Wars, he was America s first Secretary of State, its second Vice-President and Third President.
Jefferson portrays himself as a reluctant public servant. When preparing to leave Washington at the end of his second term as President in 1809 [check that it is not 1808], he wrote: never did a prisoner released from his chains feel such relief as I shall on shaking off the shackles of power. Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived, have forced me to take a part in resisting them and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passion. We can all agree that the world is a better place because of Jefferson s decision to devote himself to public service. And as this building shows designed from afar while serving in Paris - Jefferson did at least find some time for the tranquil pursuits of science. Thomas Jefferson memorably had his differences with my country. History relates the fractious nature of his relationship with the British Ambassador during his time as President, a certain Mr Merry [check not Sir ]. Merry by name, but not by nature: he reputedly spent most of his posting in
Washington in a state of high dudgeon, much of which was provoked by his relationship or, perhaps I should say, lack of relationship - with the President. I am glad to say that this is not a model of diplomacy that more recent British Ambassadors in your country have followed. I visit Virginia this week to celebrate the 400 th anniversary of the landing of a small group of British citizens [Englishmen?] at a small Island in what we now call the James River. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see in that event the origins of a singular project: the building of a great nation, founded on the eternal values of democracy and equality, based on the rule of law and the promotion of freedom. But hindsight is dangerous. 400 years ago, it was by no means preordained that this venture would deliver such an outcome. At the time, the Jamestown experiment seemed fraught with risk. Similar settlements, such as the one at Roanoke Island, in the nearby Outer Banks of what is now North Carolina, failed abjectly. We now know it as The Lost Colony. What was it about those early institutions in Jamestown that planted the seed that led to the blossoming of this great country?
It is impossible to say for sure. But I am sure that it has much to do with the ideas and values of that group of adventurers and idealists who set out all those years ago as well as with the decision by the native Powhatan people to find ways to co-exist. Recent archaeological discoveries have changed our understanding of the original settlement at Jamestown. For many years, the conventional wisdom was that the Jamestown Settlement suffered from fatal flaws. Its location was chosen badly. The colony was full of indolent noblemen, with a propensity to spend their hours playing bowls [what does this mean?] along the streets of the settlement. In fact, recent archaeology suggests that the site was a perfectly logical choice. And there were clearly large numbers of craftsmen and other hard working citizens in the original colony. When I visited Jamestown 50 years ago, there was little to see except a small church - though the sheer physical beauty of the site was manifest. 50 years on, there are, I understand a wealth of new discoveries to witness and explore. I look forward to my visit tomorrow.
The development of the United States from its humble origins in Jamestown all those years ago owes everything to the ingenuity and the idealism of countless men and women. Some of these are great figures of history. Some have names that have never been part of our common knowledge but whose stories are now being told by historians and archaeologists. And while the original endeavour was more about commerce the Settlement ultimately became a New World cradle for the concepts of justice,liberty, and self-determination that have acted as beacons throughout the world. Just as we have revised our understanding of the early history of the settlement, so we are re-evaluating the significance of the Jamestown legacy. When I visited 50 years ago, we celebrated the 350 th Anniversary largely from the perspective of the British settlers in their ships. We feted concepts such as exploration to new worlds, the spread of values, ideas and the English language, the ingenuity and sacrifice of the early settlers. These are all worthy virtues today and we still appreciate their impact. But, 50 years on, we are now in a position to reflect more candidly on the more uneasy parts of the Jamestown legacy. Human progress rarely comes without cost. And in those earliest years moment of Jamestown, when three
great civilisations came together for the first time Western European, Native American and African [first African slaves set foot in America at Jamestown in 1619] a train of events was started which had profound social impact, not only in the United States, but also in Great Britain and Europe, and certainly in Africa. We still feel those impacts today. I am delighted that, at the foot of the Capitol stairs, Prince Philip and I were welcomed by the Chiefs of the IndianTribes of Virginia and by Mayor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, America s first elected African-American governor, now this grand city s Mayor, and himself a grandson of slaves. This was a fitting symbol of the coming together of three peoples and an acknowledgement of the extraordinary wrongs that were suffered on so many and whose history is only in recent years being recounted as a valid part of this story. [a little weird to refer to slavery as a tradition]. It is a notable coincidence that 2007 also marks the 200 th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the United Kingdom, following the efforts of another great champion of liberty and equality, William Wilberforce.
Over the course of my reign, and certainly since I first visited Jamestown in 1957, my country has become a greatly more diverse and integrated society, just as the Commonwealth of Virginia and indeed the whole United States of America. The metaphor of the melting pot has become something of a cliché. But it is a metaphor that captures one of the great strengths of your country. It is an inspiration to others around the world, including my own. When Governor Kaine visited the Middle Temple in London in December last year, he talked movingly of the enduring legacy of Jamestown. He said that the 400 th anniversary was a recognition of an unbreakable bond of friendship between the English people and all Virginians and Americans. I would like to conclude by echoing those fine sentiments. Friendship is a complex concept. It means being able to debate openly, even disagree on occasion, safe in the knowledge that the bonds that tie us together are far stronger than any temporary differences of opinion. The people of my country have such a relationship with the United States, based on the bonds of friendship and shared values.
And we have not least for reasons of history a very special place in our hearts for the Commonwealth of Virginia and her people