THE Queen is today resuming her nationwide Golden Jubilee tour with a visit to the North-west.

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she is spending the next three days in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and on Merseyside, during which she will open the Commonwealth Games.

Today she was due at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, where she will visit the outpatients' department, chemotherapy suite, radiotherapy department and rehabilitation centre.

The visit to the city was then due to continue at the Museum of Jewish Life, Cheetham Hill, where the Queen was being shown an exhibition of the Art of Hebrew Script.

Meanwhile, the Duke was opening the Imperial War Museum North at Trafford.

Later, the Queen and her husband were staging a walkabout in Manchester's Exchange Square and attending a Thanksgiving Service at Manchester Cathedral for the restoration of the city centre before the Queen was opening the Cathedral Visitor Centre.

Tomorrow, she travels to Merseyside to open a new terminal building at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and meet fellow ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney - with his new bride Lady McCartney, formerly Heather Mills - at the city's Walker Art Gallery.

Manchester United and England football captain David Beckham was also expected to meet the royal visitor with Olympic oarsman Sir Steve Redgrave.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex are visiting Bolton today.

Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, areto officially open the new Bolton Lads' and Girls' Club, in Spa Road, at 2.30pm before having a tour of the new centre.