NORTH Yorkshire chief constable Della Cannings was dressed to the nines in ceremonial uniform for the Queen's visit to Ripon.

Wearing the last-generation uniform as ceremonial dress rather than the modern national, more casual uniform, the police chief raised a few eyebrows, because only few months ago she defended one of her officers after he was rebuked by the Duke of York for wearing the fleece jacket now worn by police officers.

The Duke of York told a senior officer who lined up to greet him that it "was not good enough", although a letter of apology from his office was received last week after the chief constable objected to the public rebuke.

She has made it clear that she is not prepared to waste public money on ceremonial uniforms.

So why was she wearing one for the visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Thursday of last week?

Her explanation was that she wanted to highlight the recent re-opening of Ripon Law and Order Museum - where many old police artefacts were on show.

During her visit, the Queen unveiled a plaque marking the 400th anniversary of two Royal Charters granted to the city.