State employees who work in the Capitol Square area will be given the day off Thursday to ease the crush for the brief visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

The state buildings and state parking lots in the area will be cleared for security reasons in advance of the early afternoon visit by the royal family, spokesmen said.

To mark the queen's visit, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine granted eight hours of employee recognition leave to state employees. Those working around Capitol Square must take Thursday off. Others have until June 30 to take the day off.

Capitol Square will be open to the public for the queen's visit. State officials are expecting a huge crowd.

More than 20,000 people applied by e-mail for a lottery drawing for 54 VIP passes to get a close look at the queen. Winners of the lottery were notified yesterday, but their names were not revealed.

Trying to ease the disappointment, planners said Capitol Square can accommodate 13,000 people. Most will be in a position to get at least a brief glimpse of the royal couple as they walk from the Executive Mansion, then up the front steps of the Capitol into the restored building. There, the queen will address a special session of the General Assembly.

Because the south lawn slopes upward, people gathered on the spacious lawn should be able to see the queen, who is expected to pause at the top of the steps to wave to the crowd.

First lady Anne Holton said yesterday that the queen and her husband are expected to spend about 15 minutes in the Executive Mansion, their first stop in Richmond. Kaine and Holton have invited former governors and their spouses and selected other guests to the mansion for the brief reception with the royal couple.

Among the guests will be Holton's father, former Gov. Linwood Holton, and mother, Jinx Holton. Kaine's parents, Al and Cathy Kaine, have come from their home in Kansas City, Mo., for the occasion.

The royal couple will be offered food catered by the renowned chef Patrick O'Connell of The Inn at Little Washington. Wine from Virginia's Barboursville Vineyards and ale from Richmond's Legend Brewing Co. will be served. The microbrewery has produced a new King James ale in honor of Jamestown.

As a gift from the people of Virginia, Kaine will present the royal couple with a leather-bound, first-edition copy of Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia."

The Library of Virginia's special collections division located the book in Boston and determined that the queen's library did not have a copy of it. The private, nonprofit Library Foundation purchased it for an undisclosed amount.

Holton said she will not wear a hat for the Capitol Square event but found one at a shop in Petersburg for outdoor events with the queen and Prince Philip in Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Holton said she has been practicing wearing heels for the walk up the 36 South Portico steps of the Capitol.

"I understand the queen and duke are sure-footed," she said.

The mansion will be decorated with peonies, hydrangeas, country roses and sweet peas.

The three Kaine children will get the afternoon off from school.

Many details of the queen's visit have not been made public by Buckingham Palace.

The visit by the royal couple will commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement on American soil.

They will proceed to Williamsburg and Jamestown before flying to Louisville to attend the Kentucky Derby.