Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour in Warrington, Liverpool and Chester

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have ridden a "Yellow Duckmarine" on the River Mersey as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour on Merseyside.

The royal couple took a trip on the amphibious craft as part of a tour of Liverpool, before visiting the city's Merseyside Maritime Museum.

They had earlier visited Cheshire, taking in Warrington's Orford Jubilee Park and Chester Zoo.

Chester Zoo's Mark Pilgrim said it was "fantastic" to host the royal visit.

Dr Pilgrim, the zoo's director general, said to have "Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh join us on this most special of days, and in Her Majesty's special year, is fantastic".

He said the visit was "a wonderful testament to what we are achieving through our passionate and dedicated staff".

The Queen opened a new conservation area at the zoo as part of her visit and the royal couple took a ride on the attraction's monorail.

After leaving Chester, the pair were taken on a tour of Warrington's Orford Jubilee Park, where the Queen unveiled a sculpture and the prince buried a time capsule.

'Real honour'

In Liverpool, the royal couple sailed on board the Yellow Duckmarine - a former World War II landing craft which has been remodelled and painted bright yellow in honour of the Beatles song, Yellow Submarine.

The Queen was welcomed by dancers as she opened a conservation area at Chester Zoo

They sailed around the Albert Dock before returning to the Merseyside Maritime Museum for lunch.

The Queen last visited Liverpool in December where she unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening of the new Museum of Liverpool.

Lord Mayor of Liverpool Frank Prendergast said it was "a real honour and pleasure" to be part of the visit.

"This is a really great opportunity for the people of the city to come out and pay tribute to Her Majesty for six decades of sterling service representing the UK at home and abroad," he said.

"I really hope that young and old find some time in their day to come out to give them a really warm welcome to our city."