RICHMOND, Va. – Queen Elizabeth II arrived Thursday for the commemoration of Jamestown’s 400th anniversary and praised the cultural changes that have occurred since she last visited America’s first permanent English settlement 50 years ago.

The last time the queen helped Virginia mark the anniversary of its colonial founding, it was an all-white affair in a state whose government was in open defiance of a 1954 Supreme Court order to desegregate public schools.

“Over the course of my reign and certainly since I first visited Jamestown in 1957, my country has become a much more diverse society just as the commonwealth of Virginia and the whole United States of America have also undergone a major social change,” the queen said in speech to the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, the first stop on her visit.

“The melting pot metaphor captures one of the great strengths of your country and is an inspiration to others around the world as we face the continuing social challenges ahead,” she said.

After the speech, the queen met briefly with students and faculty from Virginia Tech, including three who were wounded. Among them was Katelyn Carney, who was shot in the hand during the massacre and presented the queen with a bracelet with 32 polished stones – one for each person slain – in the school’s colors, maroon and orange.