King Charles and Queen Camilla in York: royal couple mark Maundy Thursday

Accompanied by the Queen Consort, the King’s choice of the Minster for his first Maundy Thursday as monarch has been described as an “honour” by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

With Camilla wearing a navy and white dress by Fiona Clare and a Philip Treacy hat, they were greeted at the Great West Doors of the Minster by the Dean of York, the Very Reverend Dominic Barrington, and the Archbishop, before making their way into the cathedral for the service.

The King then moved around the minster presenting 74 men and 74 women with the Maundy money as the congregation of about 1,500 looked on.

The money is presented to thank the recipients for their outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities.

The King presented each recipient with a red and a white purse, stopping to chat with many.

The white purse contained a set of specially-minted silver Maundy coins equivalent in value to the age of the King. The red purse contained two commemorative coins.

This year, one celebrates the King’s forthcoming 75th birthday and the other commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Windrush Generation.

And the King’s enjoyment of the traditional service was palpable as he exited the Great West Doors an hour later, smiling and engaging with the thousands-strong crowd in a walkabout.

For many, the service will have brought back fond memories of the late Queen’s last visit to York. She came for the Maundy Service in 2012, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice.

But for others, Thursday marked the first time they’d celebrated a royal visit.

York has always been known for attracting visitors from across the globe, and the King’s appearance was celebrated by tourists from as far as Australia and the USA.

Lori Baker, who arrived on Tuesday from Australia, said: “We found out he was going to be here last night, and we knew we had to come down.

“We’re keen royalists and we make a big fuss for these sort of events. I’m hoping to have a Coronation party.

“The last time I saw a member of the royal family was the Queen, when she came to the Commonwealth Games in Perth in 1962.”

And Jennifer Janzen, from Seattle said: “We had no idea this was happening. I don’t follow the royals too closely, but now we’re here, we thought ‘why not?’”

Of course, thousands of Yorkshire residents were also on hand to greet the King. 17-year-old Kian James, from York, came with his grandmother Pauline for the second time, having also witnessed the monarch’s November visit to the Minster.

“The atmosphere is absolutely fantastic,” Mrs James said as the royal couple’s car pulled up. “But it’s just a shame about the protestors.”

She was referring to a small but vocal group congregated outside the Minster with placards stating Not My King. Their chants were often drowned out by the Minster bells, but it didn’t stop others in the crowd voicing their disapproval.

“They’re embarrassing,” said Victoria Egerton from Knaresborough. “If they don’t want him to be King, why spoil it for others here?

“The day has been a lovely experience. The King will be moving up here next, he loves it.”

After the service, the King and Queen officially opened The Minster Refectory, a new restaurant by one of Yorkshire’s best known chefs, Andrew Pern.

Mr Pern, who owns the Star Inn At Harome and Star Inn The City in York, has worked with executive head chef Joshua Brimmell to create a menu fit for the monarch in the building once used as the Minster School, with coronation style crab being served to the royal couple, as well a ‘King’s Platter’ of York hams.

Speaking ahead of the opening, Mr Pern said: “What a privilege to be able to meet the King and Queen, it’s brilliant - and then to open a restaurant and have them come on a day one, you couldn’t make it up.

“It’s going to be amazing to have him and showcase what’s great and good about Yorkshire as a proud Yorkshireman doing what we do best.”