the highlights of the Queen's visit next month, it has been revealed.

Bermuda College students will help prepare and serve the meal for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and local VIPs.

That event is on Wednesday, March 9, mid-way through the Queen's three-day visit to the Island.

The royal couple will tour Bermuda College before the lunch, meeting Education officials and college representatives.

They will also hear a performance by the Warwick Academy orchestra and meet primary school children.

The Queen will also unveil a plaque outside the College library. And before going to lunch she will view the training restaurant and see a cookery class.

After the meal it is understood she will leave for a visit to the Maritime Museum at Dockyard.

Prince Philip will remain at the college to present awards by participants in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

Details of the Queen's visit have yet to be officially announced. But it is known that the main formal event of her trip will be on the evening of March 8, when she will attend a glittering dinner hosted by Speaker of the House of Assembly the Hon. Ernest DeCouto, at the Southampton Princess, with around 500 specially-picked guests.

She will also be visiting the Town Hall in St. George's and the Tucker House museum, where she will open the National Trust's new archeology exhibition in the basement and unveil a plaque. It is also likely there will be a "walkabout'' in the Old Town.

The Duke of Edinburgh will also make a special trip to the Biological Station, where he will meet students during a transmission of the Jason Project, which relays live TV pictures of scientific research.

On March 9, it is believed the royal couple will visit the National Gallery and the Bermuda Society of Arts.

A special investiture ceremony is to be held at Government House during the royal visit, at which Bermudians named in the Queen's New Year's Honours List will receive their awards.

The Queen will also be visiting King Edward VII Memorial Hospital during her stay.

Hospitals executive director Mr. Hume Martin said: "She is expected to meet patients and members of staff.

"We're particularly excited that the timing of the visit is so close to the 100th anniversary of the opening of Bermuda's first public hospital facility at Prospect on March 11, 1894.'' The Queen's visit will come after a major Caribbean tour. Her trip is aimed at reinforcing Britain's commitment to Commonwealth countries in the region, say officials.

It is the Queen's first full visit since 1975. She made a short four-hour stop in 1976.

The Queen and Prince Philip last touched down in Bermuda in February 1983 when, during a brief stopover, they met schoolchildren and residents during a walkabout on the tarmac at the Civil Air Terminal.

Prince Philip has returned to the Island alone in connection with the World Wildlife Foundation and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme.

The royal yacht Britannia will arrive for an informal visit on Thursday and stay until Monday.

She will fuel at Ireland Island and then berth at Front Street, before continuing to the Caribbean for the Royal tour.

No members of the Royal Family will be on board, said Lt. Cmdr. Nigel Davies, executive officer at HMS Malabar.

A Royal Marines band will arrive on Britannia and will perform a Beat Retreat ceremony alongside the yacht on Thursday night. On Friday night they will join the Bermuda Regiment band and the pipe band in a retreat ceremony on Front Street.