[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 19 (Monday, May 14, 2007)]
[Pages 589-590]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II of the United 
Kingdom

May 7, 2007

    President Bush. Good morning. Laura and I are honored to welcome 
back to the White House Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal 
Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
    The United Kingdom has written many of the greatest chapters in the 
history of human freedom. Nearly 800 years ago, the Magna Carta placed 
the authority of the government under the rule of law. Eighty years 
later, the first representative assembly of the English people met to 
debate public policies. Over the centuries, Parliaments in Britain 
established principles that guide all modern democracies. And thinkers 
from Britain, like Locke and Smith and Burke, showed the world that 
freedom was the natural right of every man, woman, and child on Earth.
    As liberty expanded in the British Isles, British explorers helped 
spread liberty to many lands, including our own. In May of 1607, a group 
of pioneers arrived on the shores of the James River and founded the 
first permanent English settlement in North America. The settlers at 
Jamestown planted the seeds of freedom and democracy on American soil. 
And from those seeds sprung a nation that will always be proud to trace 
its roots back to our friends across the Atlantic.
    Our two nations hold fundamental values in common. We honor our 
traditions and our shared history. We recognize that the strongest 
societies respect the rights and dignity of the individual. We 
understand and accept the burdens of global leadership. And we have 
built our special relationship on the surest foundations, our deep and 
abiding love of liberty.
    Today, our two nations are defending liberty against tyranny and 
terror. We're resisting those who murder the innocent to advance a 
hateful ideology, whether they kill in New York or London or Kabul or 
Baghdad.
    American and British forces are staying on the offense against the 
extremists and terrorists. We're supporting young democracies. Our work 
has been hard. The fruits of our work have been difficult for many to 
see. Yet our work remains the surest path to peace, and it reflects the 
values cherished by Americans and by Britons and by the vast majority of 
people across the broader Middle East.
    Your Majesty, I appreciate your leadership during these times of 
danger and decision. You've spoken out against extremism and terror. 
You've encouraged religious tolerance and reconciliation. You've honored 
those returning from battle and comforted the families of the fallen.
    The American people are proud to welcome Your Majesty back to the 
United States, a nation you've come to know very well. After all, you've 
dined with 10 U.S. Presidents. You helped our Nation celebrate its 
bicentennial in 17--in 1976. [Laughter]
    Queen Elizabeth II. Come--[inaudible].
    President Bush. She gave me a look that only a mother could give a 
child. [Laughter]
    You have helped commemorate both the 350th and 400th anniversaries 
of the Jamestown settlement.
    Your Majesty, the United States receives with honor the sovereign of 
the United Kingdom. We welcome back to the White House a good person, a 
strong leader for a great ally.
    Queen Elizabeth II. Mr. President, thank you for your warm words. 
This is my fifth visit to the United States. And I believe it is 
important to remind ourselves of the purpose of these occasions, which 
gives meaning to the ceremonial symbolism and the circumstance.
    A state visit provides us with a brief opportunity to step back from 
our current preoccupations to reflect on the very essence of our 
relationship. It gives us the chance to look back at how the stories of 
our two countries have been inextricably woven together. It is the 
moment to take stock of our present friendship, rightly taking pleasure 
from its strengths, while never taking these for granted. And it is the 
time to look forward, jointly

[[Page 590]]

renewing our commitment to a more prosperous, safer, and freer world.
    Last week, I had the pleasure of sharing with you an extraordinary 
anniversary in our common history. It was a privilege to join the 
commemoration of the Jamestown landing by that small group of British 
citizens all those years ago. My 2 days in Virginia gave me a new 
insight into those events, which helped to shape this country's 
development and to lay the foundations of this great Nation based on 
shared principles of equality, democracy, and the rule of law.
    And now in Washington, we have a further opportunity to acknowledge 
the present strength of our relationship. I shall enjoy not only 
renewing old acquaintances and making new ones but also recognizing the 
breadth and depth of the friendship we have shared for so long. We can 
celebrate the close and enduring associations which thrive between the 
United States and the United Kingdom at every level, be it government or 
corporate, institutional or personal.
    This visit also gives us a window on the future, both the future of 
the United States and the future cooperation between our countries. I 
particularly look forward in the next 2 days to seeing at firsthand 
something of how the cutting edge of science and technology can take us 
to the next phases of discovery and exploration in human endeavor.
    Mr. President, thank you for inviting Prince Philip and me to visit 
your country, to share in the commemoration of the Jamestown 
anniversary, and to have this opportunity to underline the extent of our 
friendship--past, present, and future. It is indeed a pleasure for us to 
be here in Washington again and to be welcomed back to the White House.

Note: The President spoke at 11:07 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House where the Queen was accorded a formal welcome with full military 
honors.