Gallery of a royal visit: 16 pictures showing Prince Andrew’s day in York
The Duke of York opened both the newly renovated York Army Museum on Tower Street and the new development at York Racecourse.
And he met the skilled craftsmen and women restoring York Minster.
Touring the Minster
Prince Andrew has been patron of the York Minster Fund since 1989. During his visit he saw how much of the fund’s money has been spent, restoring and conserving the cathedral’s East End and Great East Window.
He toured the Minster’s Stoneyard and the York Glaziers Trust to speak with the stonemasons, carvers and glaziers working on the project, which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
Rebecca Thompson, Superintendent of Works at York Minster, said it was an honour to meet the prince and explain what was happening at the medieval masterpiece.
The work undertaken as part of York Minster Revealed will help ensure this medieval masterpiece is protected for many generations to come.
At the army museum
Over on Tower Street, Prince Andrew officially opened the York Army Museum, the name of the newly refurbished regimental museum of The Royal Dragoon Guards, The Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire and The Yorkshire Regiment.
After receiving a £1 million Heritage Lottery grant last year, the former Territorial Army drill hall in has been transformed.
The attraction now features a 7m-long dining table with lift-up lids containing a mix of interactive activities.
Visitors can also see sculptures of a cavalry horse, a Sherman tank and many military artefacts and collections.
A veteran of the former Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire, Major (Retired) Michael Dillon, 84, was introduced to the prince.
Maj Dillon, who now lives in Bispham, Lancashire, features in one of the museum photographs. It shows him aged 35, hot and dusty on operations in the mountains of Aden in 1966.
In his role as Colonel in Chief of The Yorkshire Regiment, Prince Andrew presented the first Duke of York Medal.
This award for an outstanding contribution to the regiment went to Major David Prew, 50, of 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.
Over to the races
Prince Andrew joined the thousands gathered at York Racecourse for the opening day of both the Dante Meeting and the season.
He officially opened the new Weighing Room, the key part of the wider development of the northern end of the racecourse.
Prince Andrew later presented the prize to the winners of the richest race of the afternoon, the Duke of York Clipper Logistics Stakes. The race was won by outsider Glass Office at odds of 40/1, trained by David Simcock and ridden by Jim Crowley.