Queen Begins U.S. Visit Amid Toasts, Pomp

Despite the sniffles and stifling humid weather, Queen Elizabeth II set off on a state visit Tuesday with good humor, repeatedly complimenting her host, President Bush, and reaffirming the “special relationship” between their countries, particularly during the war with Iraq.

“During the Gulf crisis, your country and mine have together shown that freedom works,” the queen said during a toast to the President and his wife, Barbara, at a grand state dinner at the White House Tuesday night. “In the ceaseless task of promoting freedom and free institutions, and in standing up for them wherever they may be threatened, the United States has given courageous and unwavering leadership.”

Amid a day of pomp, gun salutes and starched ceremonies in the queen’s honor, Bush also talked of the long-standing bond between the United States and Great Britain and emphasized the importance of the queen to its success.

“You have been freedom’s friend for as long as we remember, back to World War II, when at 18, you joined the war against fascism,” Bush said at a morning ceremony on the White House lawn. “It was then that America first began to know you as one of us, and came to love you as standing fast with us for freedom.”

The queen arrived with her husband, Prince Philip, at Andrews Air Force Base at 10:10 a.m. and didn’t slip away from her official duties until 12 hours later after a dinner of lobster (She reportedly doesn’t eat shellfish) and roasted lamb, and a concert in the East Room of the White House by Jessye Norman, the soprano.

The 65-year-old monarch had a slight cold, said Joseph V. Reed, chief of U.S. protocol, but was in “an apparent good mood,” which she demonstrated at the first ceremony of the day before 2,000 dignitaries at the White House.

Standing behind a fan of microphones obviously set up with the 6-foot-3 President in mind, the diminutive monarch’s face beneath a broad-brimmed straw hat was nearly obscured. But her droll tone reached the throngs when she set off a ripple of laughter recalling her last state visit here in 1976, “when with a gallant disregard for history, we shared wholeheartedly in the 200th anniversary of the founding of this great nation.”

At the morning ceremony, the queen appeared cool, despite the humidity, in a collarless purple linen suit, the matching hat, white gloves and her trademark handbag, this one patent leather. Several events later--a tree planting, a presentation of an award to Bush, a private lunch--she changed to a black straw hat for a somber ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

In the evening, the queen wore a heavy white silk dress with panels of pearl, crystal and cord embroidery. She also wore a sapphire-and-diamond tiara with a matching necklace, earrings and bracelet as well as a diamond-studded broach.

Except for her official remarks, the queen, as is her practice, was silent in public. When a reporter asked, “How do you like the White House, your majesty?” she simply smiled, while her partner, the President, burbled happily at reporters about what a great time he was having.

As part of the usual exchange of gifts, the queen, a devoted horsewoman, indulged her host’s enthusiasm for sport by giving the President four silver-plated horseshoes. He immediately demonstrated how the game is played, tossing a ring at a stake but missing by at least a foot.

During the next two weeks, the royal couple will tour Washington, Florida and Texas, ending their stay with a private trip to Kentucky, where they will visit horse farms with American friends.

The state dinner guest list was very Establishment. There were a few Bush friends from Texas and a sprinkling of artistic types and entertainers--Morgan Freeman and Angela Lansbury, as well as Arnold Scaasi, the designer of Mrs. Bush’s full-skirted ball gown of lavender Thai silk and white lace. But mostly the state dining room was filled with leaders in industry--IBM and General Electric--Cabinet officers, top congressmen and names like Rockefeller and Kissinger. The queen was seated at dinner between the President and Walter H. Annenberg, the Philadelphia billionaire who served as ambassador to London in the mid-1970’s.

“We were talking about everything, the old days and things that were rather private,” Annenberg said of their chatter. “It would be bold of me to quote her.”