LINKS between the North-East and Norway were further fostered by a royal visit at the weekend.

Queen Sonja of Norway maintained a tradition stretching back half-a-century by switching on the lights decorating the Christmas tree outside Newcastle Civic Centre.

The evergreen, measuring 16 metres this year, is an annual present from the people of the Norwegian coastal city of Bergen to its Tyneside "twin".

Queen Sonja, accompanied by Norwegian diplomats and a civic delegation from Bergen, was greeted by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor John Marshall.

He spoke of his honour at hosting the event and maintaining trans-North Sea links, which have not only endured for 50 years, but from the darker days of the Viking visits pre-dating the Norman Conquest.

The lighting ceremony was preceded by a traditional carol service in the Pandon Room at the civic centre.

Earlier, the Queen visited a newer landmark on the Tyne to herald the contemporary art work of a compatriot.

The art-loving sovereign performed the opening of the latest exhibition at the Baltic international centre for contemporary art, on the Gateshead Quays.

Acclaimed Norwegian modern artist Olav Christopher Jenssen is mounting his first exhibition in a public gallery in the UK.

The solo exhibition, which runs until February 9, features a collection of his specially-commissioned paintings and sculptures.

Queen Sonja's own offering to the arts, a recent book, Resonance: Wanderings in Prose and Images, featuring the work of another Norwegian artist, Ornulf Opdahl, has sparked another exhibition on Tyneside.

A selection of his watercolours featured in the book can be seen at Northumbria University's University Gallery, until January 24.