Coronation Day: How Charles III has shown his affection for Yorkshire since becoming King

The King has spent a significant time in the region since he ascended the throne in September last year, with formal visits to Malton, Leeds, Bradford and Doncaster.

And York, specifically the city’s Minster, has been singled out among cities in the UK for two official visits from the King and Queen since their accession.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post ahead of the Coronation, West Yorkshire’s Lord Lieutenant, Ed Anderson said: “I think he does have an affection for Yorkshire.

“It was absolutely brilliant to have him up here so early in his reign. I know he’d been keen for a while to visit Bradford and Leeds and as soon as the opportunity arose, he was keen to do it.

“It all worked out really well.

“On the day he visited Bradford and Leeds, he was incredibly engaging with everybody, he overran with the walkabouts and met some people in Leeds who were involved in the Caribbean links with the city. Some of those people had met him 30 years ago in Chapeltown,and it was obvious that he remembered that visit.

“There’s a genuine warmth there, without a shadow of a doubt.”

In November, the King and Queen visited just two months after Queen Elizabeth’s death to poignantly unveil a statue of the late monarch at York Minster.

Carved by stonemason Richard Bossons, the statue was originally intended to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and in a touching address to hundreds who thronged to York Minster in pouring rain, the King said: “The creation of this statue is, if I may say so, a tribute to the support, affection and prayers that the community of this cathedral, and of this great city, always gave the late Queen, and all for which she stood in the life of the nation and the Commonwealth.

“Now, her image will watch over what will become Queen Elizabeth Square, for centuries to come - a constant example of the duty and care for others, and for our community, which is the calling and the duty we all share.”

The day had previously been marred by a protestor who attempted to throw an egg at the King as he processed under Micklegate Bar, but the couple showed they had not been deterred from York when they decided less than six months later to return to the Minster.

The couple chose the Minster for their first Maundy Thursday service, and handed out commemorative coins to 74 men and 74 women before opening acclaimed restauranteur Andrew Pern’s latest venture, The Refectory.

Once again, thousands flocked to the cathedral to witness the royal pair’s entrance for the service.

Other visits to the region in the past few years included the couple’s attendance at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate in 2021, as it returned following an enforced break during the pandemic, and a tour of Halifax’s Piece Hall in 2018.