King Charles to visit York Minster – and unveil a Statue of his late Mother

Our new monarch, King Charles III will visit York Minster this week with his Queen Consort and unveil a statue of his late mother commissioned to honour her life of duty.

King Charles to unveil Statue of his late Mother in York Minster.

The two-metre statue was created using centuries old craft skills and techniques and modern technology by stonemason, Richard Bossons. The late Queen chose the design herself.

It  will sit in a niche on the Minster’s west front and was intended to honour the Queen in her Platinum Jubilee year.

York Minster’s bells will ring out for the King and Queen Consort and they will be welcomed by the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, the Acting Dean of York, Canon Michael Smith and members of the Chapter of York.  Children from the Cathedral’s Minster Mice weekly service will present posies to The King and The Queen Consort.

The Coronation of King Charles takes place next year at Westminster Abbey on 6th May. Find out more here.

The couple will attend a short service of prayer at the Minster and then unveil the statue which will be blessed by the Archbishop before they meet people from the Minster Community, the City of York and the wider region recognised for outstanding work in their communities and making a difference to the lives of local people.

At a new exhibition, The King will meet the designer and carver of the statue, Richard Bossons, and his assistant Rita Dawe. The new exhibition documents the creation of the statue from concept through to the finished work of art. And was commissioned by the Chapter of York, the Cathedral’s governing body, to honour the life of service and dedication of her Late Majesty.

The King will then meet children and young people from the Minster Community and talk to staff and volunteers who met Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the Minster in 2012 to distribute the Royal Maundy.

The Queen Consort will meet representatives from the military and emergency services in the city and region.  Her Majesty will be introduced to two pupils from Husthwaite Church of England Primary School, Husthwaite Village, North Yorkshire.  The children won a competition to design a stone carving to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.

The King and The Queen Consort will sign the Distinguished Visitors’ Book before leaving the Minster through the Great West Door for the unveiling and blessing of the statue.

The visit is part of a two day tour of Yorkshire which will see the Royal couple in Leeds, Bradford and Doncaster.

The statue is one of a number of projects emerging from the York Minster Neighbourhood Plan and funded by the York Minster Fund (YMF). The YMF was established in 1967 in response to the threatened collapse of the Central Towe and has been raising money for a range of projects – in 2007 it became the cathedral’s lead fundraising partner.

The statue is the first phase of a wider scheme of urban regeneration at the West Front of the Minster to create a new public square and civic space. Queen Elizabeth Square will be the first new public square in York in 200 years.