The queen will visit Somerset in May as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom.

Accompanied by her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II will visit Yeovil and Crewkerne as part of her two-day trip to the South West on May 1 and 2.

She will also visit Salisbury, Exeter and Sherborne, 14 years after her last visit to the Dorset town.

An official British Monarchy statement said: "Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will mark the year of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a series of regional visits throughout the United Kingdom.

"Touring the country by road, rail, air and sea, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will travel widely across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"These visits will give Her Majesty the opportunity to express her thanks to people throughout the country for their continued support and loyalty."

Sherborne town councillor Marjorie Snowden said: "This is the most exciting thing to happen in Sherborne since the Queen unveiled the West Window in the abbey in 1998.

"It's terribly exciting and we are absolutely thrilled. We await with great interest to see what the arrangements will be and who she will meet. We don't know those details yet.

"We had always heard there would be possibilities of a Royal visit but we didn't know it would be the Queen herself."

The Queen ascended to the throne 60 years ago following the death of her father King George VI on February 6. There will be a special bank holiday on Monday, June 4 – her official birthday – to mark the occasion.

Councillor Robert Gould, leader of West Dorset District Council, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled and delighted and I'm sure everyone in Sherborne will be very excited. We are really looking forward to it.

"Some people were disappointed that we weren't going to have the Olympic torch relay going through Sherborne though, in my opinion, this is more exciting. Sherborne, I'm sure, will be turning out in force."