TWO Royal visitors are to attend this year’s Great Yorkshire Show.

The Countess of Wessex will visit on the opening day, Tuesday July 8, with the Princess Royal turning up the following day.

Organisers, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said this would be the Countess’s first visit, while the Princess has been a guest on several occasions, the last time in 2010.

Honorary Show director Bill Cowling said: “This is super news and will make it a very special show, both for us as organisers and for the thousands of visitors.

“We are in the process of finalising the programmes for our Royal guests but touring the show, meeting visitors and exhibitors as well as staff and stewards will be the focus.”

About 135,000 people are expected to attend the three-day show on the outskirts of Harrogate, which is the 156th in its history.

The event will have competitive classes for about 8,000 animals, including the country’s finest cattle, sheep, horses and pigs, plus demonstrations of country skills, fashion shows, cookery theatres and includes a major exhibition of British food and drink.

The show has attracted a steady flow of Royal visitors in recent years, including he Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in 2011 and The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh in 2008.