Remembering Queen Elizabeth II's visits to Virginia
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Queen Elizabeth II at Jamestown Settlement with then-Vice President Dick Cheney and then-Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine in 2007. Photo: Anwar Hussein/WireImage
Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 on Thursday, ending her seven-decade rule over the United Kingdom and its commonwealth realms.
With four visits to Virginia (including one stop in Richmond) in her 70-year reign, the queen visited the Old Dominion more than any other state during her trips to the U.S.
Here's a look back at her visits:
🇬🇧 Oct. 1957 — She came for Jamestown's 350th anniversary, including a stop at William & Mary and an overnight stay at the Williamsburg Inn.
🇺🇸 July 1976 — For the U.S. bicentennial celebration, her tour included a brief visit at UVA and Monticello in Charlottesville.
🎖 May 1991 — A visit to the White House included a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
🎗 May 2007 — Queen Elizabeth's last visit to Virginia was for Jamestown's 400th anniversary.
- She started the trip in Richmond with a tour of the Virginia Capitol grounds and with a speech before the state's General Assembly.
- The visit came a few weeks after a mass shooter killed 32 people at Virginia Tech before killing himself.
What she said: "My heart goes out to the students, friends and families of all those killed, and to the many others who have been affected, some of whom I shall be meeting shortly," Queen Elizabeth said in Richmond in 2007.
- Her plan to meet with survivors of the shooting was apparently leaked to the press prior to the trip, something then-Gov. Tim Kaine's staff was angry about, Politico reported in 2016, using emails archived by the Library of Virginia.
In her General Assembly speech, the queen touched on the shift in historical context since her first visit to Jamestown, 50 years prior.
- In 1957, she noted, the Jamestown anniversary was commemorated from the perspective of the white settlers, but "we are now in a position to reflect more candidly on the Jamestown legacy."
