All eyes on White Rose Wedding

Royal wedding of Duke of Kent and Miss Worsley, inside York Minster.

WHEN Harry and Meghan marry this weekend all eyes will be on Windsor. But back in 1961 it was Yorkshire that was centre-stage, hosting not only the entire British Royal Family, but also many foreign heads of state for what was known as the White Rose wedding.

Katharine Worsley, who grew up in her family’s home at Hovingham, North Yorkshire, made history when she married the Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent on June 8 at York Minster.

It was the first Royal wedding York Minster had seen since 1328 when Edward III was married there and was hailed as the day the new Duchess took the Queen back home.

It had been widely expected that the wedding would be at Westminster Abbey, but took place in York after a family request.

The five-tier cake was made in York by Peter Gee, York Terry’s chief baker and confectioner.

Standing more than five feet high, it weighed 180lb, was covered with 30lb of icing sugar and took more than 168 hours to decorate.

Included in the decorations were the Horse of Kent and the Rose of York, with the initials of the couple.

It was driven slowly along the 16 miles of country roads to Hovingham by one of the company’s most experienced drivers.

For other wedding decorations, half of the flowers were sent from London and the rest were collected in Yorkshire.

The event was watched by some 25 million people on television.