Crowds and cheers welcome the Queen to Manchester

The Queen was greeted by crowds of well-wishers and slightly bewildered rail passengers when she arrived at Piccadilly station for the start of a visit to Manchester.

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she arrived slightly late on the Royal Train at platform one.

The Queen strolled down the 100m long platform to the surprise of some travellers waiting for their train on the opposite platform.

There were cheers as she emerged into the main station concourse.

The Queen, who was wearing a light blue coat and darker blue hat, walked through the station an honour guard of military personnel and British Legion flags, and stopped to talk to the crowd and accept flowers as she made her way to a waiting car outside.