Virginians Learn to Keep Her Majesty's Pleasure

Curtsies are not obligatory. Neither are bows for men but leave the "I'm with Stupid" T-shirt at home. As the Queen arrives in America today on her first visit in 16 years, officials in Virginia and the US media are busily dispensing advice on royal etiquette.

Virginia's governor, Tim Kaine, who will welcome the Queen to Richmond today, has devoted a page to royal protocol on the visit's official website, with a hotline for the most pressing etiquette queries. "In general, there are no obligatory codes of behaviour," the website says.

But it does dole out some helpful cues. Although US citizens are under no obligation to bow or curtsy before the monarch, Virginians should watch what they say.

"When first meeting the Queen she should be addressed as Your Majesty and then Ma'am," the site says, helpfully pointing out that that rhymes with jam. It offers guidance on dress: "There is no requirement for hats to be worn, though it is entirely acceptable to do so." There are also elementary tips on table manners. "At least in Britain, when the Queen stops eating, you stop as well."

The six-day visit is the fourth since the Queen first set out for America as a young woman in 1957. Her return now, half a century later, aged 81, is to honour the founding of the first permanent English colony in the new world at Jamestown.

It begins today in a ceremonial welcome in Richmond, where the Queen will also have a private meeting with survivors of the Virginia Tech massacre. The Queen will continue to the site of that first fort tomorrow and will attend the Kentucky Derby at the weekend, before meeting President Bush in Washington on Monday.

The prospect of visiting royalty has created a modest frisson of excitement. In Richmond, several thousand people entered a lottery to win a prime viewing spot for the walkabout this afternoon.

Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, a spokeswoman for the governor, said officials had been besieged by phone calls from the public seeking guidance on proper behaviour should they meet the Queen. Are hats mandatory? What about white gloves?

Ms Talmadge-Anderson says it is fine to shake hands if the Queen offers hers first. The website also says that the royal family does not want to compel anyone to buy new clothes for the visit. However, those who can stand near to the Queen have been told not to wear novelty T-shirts.