POLICE are stepping up security and York is getting out the glitter to show the city off in its best light during tomorrow's royal visit.

The day-long royal tour will be one of the biggest security operations ever undertaken in the county drafting in army explosives and anti-terrorism experts and police officers from outside the county.

And as more details of the visit come to light, City of York Council has revealed the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be the first visitors to a special exhibition called Timeline, charting York's history.

The exhibition is being staged jointly by City of York Council, Science City York, and the Past Forward Group and will be presented to the royal party tomorrow at York's Assembly Rooms. It will later be installed elsewhere for public viewing.

The exhibition chronologically illustrates York's time line through past, present and future, focusing on the city's heritage as an archaeological centre to a science city.

Saxon jewellery, a Viking silk cap and the Middlesbrough meteorite will be some of the artefacts on display.

Tony Bennett, head of the council's economic development unit, said: "The exhibition will show the historic importance of York but also how initiatives like Science City York are able to build on that to secure prosperity for the future."

Meanwhile the Evening Press will play its part in recording history by bringing you coverage of the visit, the first the Queen has made since 1988, in tomorrow's paper and more pictures in a 12-page special souvenir supplement called Diary of a Royal Day, free with the Evening Press on Friday.

City of York Council, the police and the Evening Press continue to be inundated with calls from people eager to catch a glimpse of the royal couple and the council is advising there will be two prime viewing locations in Parliament Street at 10.45am and Duncombe Place at 11.55am.

The trip will see the royal party welcomed to the city by the Lord Mayor of York, Coun Shan Braund at Micklegate Bar, travel down Micklegate slowing in Parliament Street on their way to the Minster.

After a Minster service they will go on a 15-minute walkabout on a route towards the Assembly Rooms and after lunch will visit the Museum Gardens and the Yorkshire Museum.

City centre traffic will be affected but should be back to normal by 5pm.