Dartmouth could become Royal Dartmouth if the town council backs a surprise proposal to ask the Queen to give it an elite status reserved for just a handful of towns across the country.

Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire became the first town in more than 100 years to be given the royal title when it was granted almost three years ago.

The only other royal towns in England are Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Tunbridge Wells.

But now Dartmouth could be making a bid to join them – thanks to its royal connections.

The town already boasts a royal regatta and is home to the Britannia Royal Naval College – where a young Princess Elizabeth met her husband to be Prince Philip. It even has a Royal Castle Hotel.

Now the town's recently formed Business Improvement District team is suggesting that Dartmouth should go one step further – and ask both the Prime Minister and the Queen to okay its royal town status.

The BID team says it has already got the backing of MP Dr Sarah Wollaston – who thinks it is a good idea, provided it has town council support. The team is now asking the council to lead the bid and the council's general purposes committee will be considering the idea when it meets next Tuesday.

For more on this story, see this week's Dartmouth Chronicle