RED carpets were rolled out and some of the city’s most treasured artefacts were put on display as royalty toured York’s famous landmarks.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, re-visited York Minster, the cathedral where he married Miss Katharine Worsley on June 8, 1961, the Jorvik Viking Centre for a guided tour of the recently re-opened flood hit attraction and met members of York Mosque, which is nearing the end of ambitious £1.4 million building work.

The Queen’s first cousin and grandson of King George V was shown around the Minster by volunteer guide Dr John Gough, before visiting the Chapter House to view items from the Minster’s historic collection.

These included an order of service and altar cushions from his wedding.

The Dean of York, The Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, also met the prince.

She said: “Many parts of the 800-year-old cathedral will have been familiar to him but it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to show him the results of recent conservation and restoration projects, including the work on the 15th century Great East Window, which will be completed next year.

“Other items shown to The Duke from the Minster’s 300,000 strong historic collection included a 1633 Charles I bible and a Greek patriarchal cross from 1688, which shows a beautifully carved depiction of Christ’s baptism and crucifixion.”

The prince was later taken on a journey back in time as he travelled deep under the streets to Viking street level where new chair of York Archaeological Trust, Anthony Robards, CEO David Jennings and director of attractions Sarah Maltby led a tour of the newly re-imagined centre.

He watched a show telling the story of the Coppergate dig, the excavation in the 1970s and 80s that led to the creation of Jorvik and experienced sights, sounds and smells of the 10th Century city more than 1,000 years ago on a ride around the attraction.

“It has been a phenomenal few months since we reopened Jorvik in April, with strong visitor numbers and excellent feedback on the re-imagined centre, so we were proud to showcase the hard work of the team today,” said Ms Maltby.