It was described by one international news agency as a visit to "some tiny outposts of the Commonwealth and a few of the last remaining British dependencies.'' The Queen and Prince Philip have spent three weeks touring a region which still has close historical and constitutional ties to Britain.

Starting in Anguilla, the tour underlined the geographical breadth of the Queen's remaining realm despite republican rumblings in several parts, most notably Australia and Jamaica.

The tour took in Belize and Guyana in central and south America as well as Dominica, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

The Queen is head of state of all the territories except Dominica and Guyana.

All are independent Commonwealth countries except the British dependencies of Anguilla and Cayman Islands.

On all the stops on the tour the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were met by cheering flag-waving crowds.

The first stop on February 18 was in Anguilla which holds a special place in British hearts as "the mouse that roared'' when it rebelled in 1967 against a drive to weaken links with London. This bucked a trend toward Independence from the one-time colonial rule.

In George Town in the Cayman Islands, some 10,000 tourists and residents welcomed the Royal couple, waving Union Jacks and cheering.

Her arrival was greeted enthusiastically despite earlier criticism from shopkeepers who said business would suffer because several cruise ships had to cancel their stops at George Town due to security surrounding the Queen's yacht.

Three cruise ships carrying 2,500 passengers were banned from docking, much to the dismay of taxi drivers and the traders who feared they could lose as much as $250,000 in weekend business.

Following a welcoming ceremony at the George Town harbour, the Queen opened the Cayman Islands parliament with a speech praising its successful banking and tourism industries.

The Cayman Islands has a population of about 28,000 and is the only British territory in the Caribbean that has always been financially independent from the British treasury.

"Plans are now in place to put more emphasis on advertising for the lucrative European market,'' the Queen said. "In this context, my government will lay particular emphasis on the need to protect the natural environment and the wildlife of the islands.'' The Royal party also opened a new soccer stadium and hosted a dinner aboard the yacht Britannia for top government and business leaders of the Islands.

On the first day of this month the Queen and Prince Philip sailed on Britannia into Kingston, Jamaica.

The Queen last visited Jamaica in 1983, and this month's tour may prove to be her last as Jamaica's official head of state.

A commission created by Jamaica's parliament one year ago to review the constitution has agreed to make Jamaica a republic, and to replace Queen Elizabeth with an elected president.

The island repaved many of its long-neglected streets in preparation for the Queen's visit and hundreds of people, many of them downtown office workers or schoolchildren in uniforms, lined up under the hot sun at the pier and along the roadsides to wave flags.

The Queen laid a wreath at the cenotaph for Jamaican soldiers killed in both world wars at the National Heroes Park.

While in Kingston, the Royal couple stayed aboard Britannia at night as King's House, the official residence of Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, is currently undergoing a $3 million refurbishment due to termite damage.

The Queen later travelled to Montego Bay, on Jamaica's northwest coast, where she visited a garment factory while the Prince toured a nearby banana plantation.

Emphasising the serious role of the monarchy, the Queen addressed a number of national parliaments as head of state or leader of the Commonwealth, during the tour.

Later this year she will pay a state visit to Russia following a trip to Canada in August.

ON PARADE -- Queen Elizabeth reviews the colour guard of the Jamaican Defence Forces upon her arrival in Kingston last Tuesday. She later visited a garment factory at the coastal resort of Montego Bay while Prince Philip toured a nearby banana plantation.