Ben KendallThe Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will next week pay their first official visit to Norwich in eight years.The royal party will tour Norwich Cathedral before travelling to the new Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind (NNAB) Bradbury activity centre when they visit the city on May 4.Ben Kendall

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will next week pay their first official visit to Norwich in eight years.

The royal party will tour Norwich Cathedral before travelling to the new Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind (NNAB) Bradbury activity centre when they visit the city on May 4.

Businesses in the Tombland area of the city and along the route of the royal procession are encouraged to dress for the occasion by hanging flags and setting up other displays. Employers are also being asked to allow staff to take breaks enabling them to join the crowds which are expected to line the streets.

Richard Jewson, Lord Lieutenant for Norfolk, said: 'We are delighted to welcome the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, to Norwich on their first public visit to since the Jubilee in 2002.

'There will be an opportunity for people to welcome the Queen and Prince Philip as they arrive at the cathedral for a tour of the hostry and refectory and later to see the royal party en route to the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind premises.

'I am sure there will be many who will want to share in this celebration and demonstrate the warmth of feeling towards Her Majesty and His Royal Highness.'

Timings and the precise route the royals will take will be announced closer to the time.

The cathedral visit will mark the opening of the new hostry and refectory. The Very Rev Graham Smith, dean of Norwich, will lead the service and the Rt Rev Graham James, the bishop of Norwich, will be preaching the sermon.

After the service, the Queen and Prince Philip will be taken on a tour of the new premises. At the end of the tour, the Queen will unveil a plaque in the cloisters, before being served lunch.

The couple will then visit the NNAB in Magpie Road. The association has recently opened an extension, the Bradbury activity centre, which they will tour and officially open with a plaque. The royal party will also meet groups of staff, volunteers, and blind and partially sighted people who benefit from the association's services.