Queen praises progress in Baltics

The tour by the Queen and Prince Philip will last five days

The Queen has paid tribute to the Baltic states during the keynote speech of her tour of the region.

The monarch addressed the Lithuanian parliament in the capital, Vilnius, on the first full day of her visit.

She said Baltic nations had "emerged from the shadow of the Soviet Union and blossomed as sovereign states".

It is her first trip to the region since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The tour of the three new EU members will last five days.

During her speech, the Queen said the UK and Lithuania "share an interest in building a Europe that is outward looking".

It is a transformation - political, economic and social - for which there are few parallels in the history of Europe The Queen In pictures: Royal Baltic visit

The monarch said she was encouraged by the "freedom of movement and labour" between the UK and Lithuania.

Addressing more than 500 members of parliament and dignitaries in the Seimas building, the Queen said Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia had taken their "rightful places in the international community and as respected members of the European Union and Nato".

"It is a transformation - political, economic and social - for which there are few parallels in the history of Europe," she said.

'Ultimate sacrifice'

The actions of the Nazis and Communists in the Baltics reduced the populations of the three countries by millions as a result of war and deportation.

The Soviet authorities exiled hundreds of thousands of people to Siberia.

And more than 200,000 - 91% - of Lithuanian Jews were killed by the Nazis. This marked one of the worst death rates of the Nazi genocide.

The Queen referred to this when she spoke of "the darkest passages in the history of our continent".

"We should never forget what Lithuania has suffered along the road to freedom," she said.

She went on to pay tribute to "all those who stood up against tyranny, so often making the ultimate sacrifice".

The Queen, who is accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will travel to Latvia and Estonia after Lithuania.

Royal relative

The monarch also met signatories of the Declaration of Independence, drafted in 1990 when the country proclaimed it would break with Moscow's rule.

During the trip she will talk to relatives of those who died as they tried to defend Lithuania against a Moscow-inspired attempted putsch on 13 January 1991.

Fourteen people died during subsequent bloodshed and hundreds were injured.

The independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia was recognised by Moscow in September 1991.

The Queen and Prince Philip will attend a state banquet in the evening.

The royal visit is expected to generate much interest, particularly after it emerged that she is related to one of the country's key historical figures.

Alfredas Bumblauskas, a local university professor, claims to have found that the Queen is descended from Grand Duke Gediminas - a monarch of medieval Lithuania.

Colin Roberts, Britain's ambassador, said: "He's meant to be a great-grandfather times 20 - about 20 generations away."