Vilnius, Lithuania ? Queen Elizabeth II kicked off her first-ever visit to the Baltic states Monday as Lithuania’s prime minister welcomed the British monarch to the northern European region.

Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas and an honor guard met the 80-year old queen and her husband, Prince Philip, as they touched down at an airport serving the capital, Vilnius.

During her four-day tour, the queen is expected to meet with President Valdas Adamkus today, give a speech to Parliament and pay tribute to Lithuanians killed when Soviet paratroopers stormed the Vilnius television tower in January 1991.

In Latvia, President Vaira Vike-Freiberga will be host to the queen, who will pay homage to George Armistead, a British citizen who was mayor of Riga, Latvia’s capital, a century ago.

In Estonia, the queen will be hosted by newly inaugurated President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Her stay in the Baltics’ smallest country will include a choir concert, a reception at a new art museum and a tribute to British sailors who died during Estonia’s 1918-1920 war of independence.