Latvia's political elite greeted Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as she arrived in Latvia on Wednesday, the second leg of her tour of the Baltic nations. The queen, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, was met by President Vaira Vike-Freiberga when her plane from Lithuania landed at Riga International Airport. They then traveled to a welcome ceremony at the Riga Castle, the Latvian president's office, where they were greeted by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis and many other top politicians and diplomats, as a military band played the British and Latvian national anthems. The queen, wearing a pink outfit and pink hat, helped inspect the Latvian honor guard before the entourage disappeared into the castle, situated along a river that winds through the capital's old city district. The area around the castle was closed off under tightened security, the Associated Press reported. The day's planned program for the British monarch was to feature a formal lunch at the Blackheads House, where the queen was to give a speech. She was also to lay flowers at the Freedom Monument and attend a choir concert at the newly built Arena Riga. The queen was scheduled to finish her Baltic tour in Estonia on Thursday.
