BUCKINGHAM Palace officials have been blasted by a Gwent AM for failing to find time for the Queen to visit his constituency.

Blaenau Gwent AM Peter Law has lobbied the palace since May to persuade the Queen, pictured, to visit his constituency next June.

He believes the area needs the kind of morale boost a prestigious royal visit brings, after the closure of the Corus plant in Ebbw Vale.

"I'm not asking for much, just an hour or so," he told the Argus. "It's a disgrace and a terrible indictment of Buckingham Palace that they've failed to include Blaenau Gwent on the itinerary of Her Majesty's three-day visit to Wales."

He said the Queen was not to blame for the oversight.

"The Lord Lieutenant and vice-Lord Lieutenant have been most helpful and supportive," he said. "But I blame the palace, who have failed to grasp the severity of the situation. They've failed to realise, despite numerous letters from me, that there's a need for this visit.

"The Queen hasn't been to Blaenau Gwent for 30 years. A visit would be greatly app-reciated and it would show she cared."

It has already been announced that the Queen is to visit Wales between June 11 and 13 as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Mr Law suspects her time in Gwent will instead be spent in Newport, which is bidding for city status as part of the jubilee celebrations.

A double bank holiday is also being held across the UK on June 3 and 4.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said "unfortunately" the Queen could not visit everywhere.

He added: "We asked for as many ideas and views as to where the Queen should visit and it proved to be impossible to accommodate them all.

"The Queen's route has been planned to take in as much of Wales as is possible."

While Mr Law has been trying to get the sovereign to visit, Plaid Cymru's culture spokesman questioned yesterday whether it would be more appropriate for Wales to commemorate Owain Glyndwr instead.

Owen John Thomas said: "Celebrating the 600th anniversary of freeing the walled towns of Wales would be more appropriate for us than to celebrate the coronation of the Queen of England."

First Minister Rhodri Morgan said no-one would dispute Glyndwr's place in history, but "that does not prevent us from celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the Queen".