YORK Minster is to stage a spectacular Royal Wedding next month - but neither the Queen nor any other Windsor is likely to join the congregation.

The candlelit cathedral will be the atmospheric setting for the Viking wedding of King Sihtric of Dublin and Princess Edith, the sister of Aethelstan, the West Saxon King of England.

The ceremony will be preceded several hours earlier by a bloody battle in the Eye of York, near Clifford's Tower, when local forces opposed to the marriage intend to rise up against the kings' soldiers.

Up to 200 Vikings from all over the world, including Russia, Poland, Belgium and France as well as Scandinavia, are expected to take part in the battle and then attend the wedding.

The events, to be staged on Saturday, February 25, will form the climax to this year's Jorvik Viking Festival.

A spokeswoman said the festival - the 21st to be held in York - meant the city would once again resound with battle cries, the clash of steel and the shrieks of helpless victims.

However, it would also feature "the gentler, more loving side of the plunderers from across the sea".

She said a new event was a Viking Trial Of Strength, to be held in St Sampson's Square, at 10am, on Wednesday, February 22.

"Onlookers will witness a spectacular display of Viking strength tests such as shield wrestling, carrying the wench, axe holding, stone lifting, leg wrestling, rowing the axe and hand-to-hand combat," she said.

"The competitors will be judged using a scoring system and the level of support from the crowd."

The contest will be hosted by the Jarl of Jorvik, Jarl Olafsonn.

The festival will be launched on the evening of Wednesday, February 15, when spectacular light projections onto Clifford's Tower will warn the city of the imminent arrival of Viking troops, and there will be a torchlit procession.

On the following Saturday, there will be a re-enactment of a boat burial in St Sampson's Square, during which a Viking will be ritually laid to rest in an attractive boat, surrounded by his personal belongings.

For more information on the festival, phone 01904 543403.