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Richmond and Jamestown stops confirmed, but might she visit the 'Burg? Date published: 4/24/2007
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER
Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) _Queen Elizabeth II will pay tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech. shootings when she visits the state next month, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday. Though it was not immediately clear what sort of ceremony will be held, a trip to the campus was ruled out, a palace spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with royal rules. A student killed 32 people at the university before turning the gun on himself last week. “As the queen is visiting so shortly after the tragedy, it is important that it be recognized,” the spokeswoman said. “It’s a significant and terrible tragedy in the state.” The queen, accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, will be in the United States to mark the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The visit includes a trip to Jamestown, the site of England’s first successful American colony, an appearance at the Kentucky Derby, and a state dinner with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington, D.C. She will also visit NASA’s Goddard Center and the World War II National Memorial in Washington. No Fredericksburg-area visit is on her agenda at this time. Her journey to the United States will be her fifth in 50 years _ but it will be first in which the carbon dioxide released by the trip will be offset by a donation to an environmental organization, the palace said. The offset is one of many measures the increasingly environmentally conscious royals have taken to reduce the amount of pollution generated by their travels. The queen’s son, Prince Charles, is having his Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles converted to run on 100 percent biodiesel and recently canceled a traditional ski holiday abroad. The royals are scheduled to arrive in Richmond, Virginia on May 3. Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced today that the Queen will address a special joint session of Virginia’s General Assembly at the State Capitol in Richmond on that day. They return to Britain on May 8.
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