Queen opens fourth Welsh Assembly session

The Queen will officially open the fourth session of the National Assembly for Wales today.

She will be joined in Cardiff Bay by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Royal guests will be met by Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler and First Minister Carwyn Jones on their arrival at the Senedd.

They will then watch a flypast of four Hawks from 208(R) Squadron RAF Valley on Anglesey, north Wales, where Prince William is posted.

Both the Queen and the Presiding Officer will make speeches in the Assembly debating chamber.

The Royal Family will then travel the short distance to the nearby Wales Millennium Centre by car, where they will attend a reception for Assembly Members and meet vocal group Only Men Aloud. The arts centre was opened by the Queen in 2004.

The Queen's visit marks the start of the new Assembly following the May 5 election. The theme for the first year of the Fourth Assembly is "assembly of communities".