LONDON (AFP) -- Queen Elizabeth II heads to the United States for the first time in 16 years on Thursday to mark the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia.

The 81-year-old monarch's trip is her fourth state visit there. Her first visit in 1957 saw her attend the 350th anniversary celebrations at Jamestown.

"The theme of the visit is the historic links and bonds of friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States," said a senior royal official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

It will mark the shared history and heritage as well as future partnerships in science, education and innovation, she added during a pre-trip briefing at the queen's official London residence, Buckingham Palace.

The visit comes just weeks after the Virginia Tech massacre in which 32 students and teachers were killed in the United States' worst mass shooting.

The queen will pay tribute to the victims during her time in the eastern U.S. state.

On Thursday, she will be in Richmond, Virginia, to address the Virginia General Assembly legislature. Previous speakers there include former British prime ministers Winston Churchill in 1946 and Margaret Thatcher in 1995.

The following day's visit to Jamestown, which was settled by 104 English colonists in 1607, 13 years before the more famous Pilgrim Fathers, will see her tour the site that attracts more than 19 million visitors each year.