Queen starts Jubilee tour

The Queen conferred Lord Mayoralty status on Exeter

The Queen has been rounding off the first day of her Golden Jubilee tour of the UK with a visit to Exeter.

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she was greeted by crowds of well-wishers outside Exeter Cathedral, which hosted entertainment specially created for the Jubilee.

The West Country tour by the royal couple on Wednesday began with around 1,500 people lining the streets of Falmouth in Cornwall.

It was the first day of the Queen's Golden Jubilee tour, from May to August, during which she will travel to about 60 towns in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Queen visited Falmouth and Truro

Her visit to the region was designed to highlight two of the region's most important industries - farming and tourism - that were both badly affected by last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak.

They visited the new National Maritime Museum - due to open in the autumn - where they saw a yacht called Bluebottle, which was given to them as a wedding gift.

The Queen then went out to the harbour to meet the crew of a new lifeboat and officially name the ship Robert Cox Scott.

The crews of both the HMS Cornwall and the Prince William - named after the couple's grandson - gave the couple 'three cheers'.

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Later hundreds of people greeted the Queen when she arrived at a celebration of Cornish gardens at the National Trust's 18th Century Trelissick gardens, near Truro.

She saw a maypole dance performed by children from the Isles of Scilly, listened to music played by the St Keverne band and received flowers from local Brownies.

Nine-year-old Rosy Watson said: "The Queen said thank you for the flowers - she is absolutely beautiful."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh then headed to Truro to mark the 125th anniversary of the diocese.

Dramatic extravaganza

The Dean of Truro, the Very Reverend Michael Moxon, said: "So often people in Cornwall feel they're a bit forgotten. It's wonderful to get this boost."

The Queen's evening in Exeter began with what is described as a "music, dance and drama extravaganza" called "Impressions of Devon"

The show was put together for the Queen's visit and was performed by schoolchildren from across Devon.

The royal couple were preparing to go to Wells, Somerset on Thursday, the farmers' market and Vivary Park in Taunton and various locations including the Pump Rooms in Bath.

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	Tour dates: 1 1-2 May: Cornwall, Devon and Somerset 2 7-8 May: Tyne and Wear and Durham 3 10 May: Buckinghamshire and Berkshire 4 23-29 May: Scotland 5 1-4 June: London and Windsor 6 7 June: West Sussex 7 11-13 June: Wales 8 27 June: Portsmouth 9 2-3 July: West Midlands 10 11-12 July: West Yorkshire and the Humber 11 17-18 July: Suffolk and Norfolk 12 24-26 July: Manchester and Merseyside 13 31 July- 1 August: Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire 14 5 August: Lancashire Dates for Northern Ireland will be announced later

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