Monday, May 7, 2007
Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, made a triumphant return to the Historic Jamestowne unit of Colonial National Historical Park on Friday, May 4th, nearly 50 years after her first visit to the site in October, 1957. Accompanied again by her husband, His Royal Highness, the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the royal visit was to help commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English settlement. Among the other dignitaries on hand were the Queen’s official hosts, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and his wife, First Lady Anne Holton, as well as Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne, and Senator and Mrs. John Warner.
Following an introduction of officials from the National Park Service and APVA Preservation Virginia (the NPS management partner at Historic Jamestowne), the Queen and Prince Philip separated for their tours. The Queen first visited the Archaearium, the new museum discussing the discovery of the original 1607 James Fort, and viewed the more than 1,000 excavated artifacts on display, while Prince Philip toured the Historic Jamestowne Research Center with Dr. Bill Kelso, APVA Preservation Virginia Director of Archaeology and the man responsible for the discovery of the fort site in 1996.
After the facility tours were completed, the royal couple rejoined for a walk along the rope line, where approximately 500 invited guests viewed the Queen’s arrival, including National Park Service and APVA employees and volunteers and their families. The Queen and the Prince made numerous stops along the line to chat and receive gifts of flowers (at the Queen’s personal direction, the excess flowers were taken by park staff to Williamsburg Regional Hospital after her visit). Retired Jamestown Supervisory Historian Diane Stallings talked briefly with Prince Philip, telling him of plans for the upcoming Anniversary Weekend, while Amelie and Elizabeth Rives, daughters of NPS Virginia Director Sandy Rives, got the thrill of a lifetime when Queen Elizabeth stopped and chatted briefly with the family about their father’s role in getting Jamestown ready for the 400th anniversary.
The royal couple then moved to the Jamestown Rediscovery excavation of the original 1607 James Fort with Dr. Kelso. The discovery of the fort is the single biggest change since the Queen’s first visit, at which time the site of the fort was believed to have long-since been lost to the shifting tides of the James River. She met with archaeologists as they worked the site, and viewed a number of recently excavated objects, including chess pieces, broken knives, and the claws of crabs eaten as a meal by settlers four centuries ago. According to Dr. Kelso, the royal couple was well versed in Jamestown’s history and the findings of the archaeological project.
The final stop on the tour was the Jamestown Memorial Church, where approximately 40 individuals had gathered to watch as Queen Elizabeth gave a gift of an ornate, handmade wooden chair made of American cherry and Scottish elm bearing her official cipher and the carved likeness of the Godspeed, one of the three ships that brought the colonists in 1607. Governor Kaine accepted the gift on behalf of the people of Virginia, though the chair will remain at Jamestown for the time being, under the care of the NPS curatorial staff.
Before departing, the Queen was given a gift from Virginia Director Sandy Rives on behalf of the employees of the National Park Service. The ornate glass pitcher given to Her Majesty was hand-crafted at the Historic Jamestowne glasshouse. The party then departed for a luncheon at Colonial Williamsburg and a tour of the College of William and Mary, before departing Virginia for Kentucky and the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby.
The detailed planning and execution of the Queen’s visit to Historic Jamestowne was under the careful direction of the NPS Eastern Incident Management Team, with 2007 Harry Yount Award recipient Gordon Wissinger as the Incident Commander. Among the many agencies they coordinated with to provide security and support for the event include the United States Secret Service, Scotland Yard, Buckingham Palace, Virginia State Police, Virginia Capitol Police, James City County Police Department, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and the United States Coast Guard, as well as many parks throughout the Northeast Region that provided resources for security and law enforcement. Media interest in the event was extraordinary, with over 700 credential requests received, through coverage was provided through a media pool, staffed by approximately 40 members of local, national and British media outlets.
|
