Queen forced to cancel opening Arsenal stadium

LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) Britain's Queen Elizabeth cancelled plans to open Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium today because of a strained muscle in her back.

Ken Friar, the long-time Arsenal club secretary and one of the driving forces behind the development of the 60,000 all-seater stadium in north London, confirmed to Sky Sports News that she had pulled out of the visit.

''The Queen has injured her back and can't be with us,'' he said, ''but Prince Phillip is still coming.'' A spokeswoman at Buckingham Palace said ''there is no cause for concern'' for the 80-year-old monarch, who has just returned from a three-country trip to the Baltic states.

The Queen had been scheduled to meet Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and captain Thierry Henry on a tour of the ground.

Arsenal began playing at their new stadium in July with an opening match against Ajax Amsterdam after leaving their former home at Highbury at the end of last season.

They had moved there in 1913 after beginning life in south London. The club was formed by workers at the Royal Arsenal in 1886 and after initially using the name Dial Square taken from one of the workshops there, were then known as Royal Arsenal from 1886 to 1891.

REUTERS DH HS1951