King Charles to meet stonemason who created statue of Queen - BBC

The King will later meet the stonemason who designed and carved a statue of Queen Elizabeth II at York Minster.

King Charles III and the Queen Consort will visit York for the unveiling of the sculpture on Wednesday.

The monarch will enter the city at Micklegate, the traditional royal entrance into the city, where he will be greeted by well-wishers.

After visiting York the King will then travel to Doncaster where he will formally confer its city status.

The King and Queen Consort will pass through Micklegate Bar where monarchs traditionally stop to ask the Lord Mayor's permission to enter the city.

The York Minster bells will herald the arrival of the royal couple and they will be welcomed by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, the acting Dean of York, Canon Michael Smith and children from the cathedral's Minster Mice weekly service.

After a short prayer service the King will meet stonemason Richard Bossons, who created the statue of the late Queen, and his assistant Rita Dawe.

The King and Queen Consort will leave the Minster through the Great West door for the unveiling and blessing of the sculpture.

Richard Bossons designed the statue of the late Queen

The 6ft 7in (2m) statue sits in a niche on the minster's west front and was intended to honour the Queen in her Platinum Jubilee year.

The design had been chosen by the late monarch and was originally due to be unveiled in September, but this was postponed after the Queen's death.

Analysis box by Sean Coughlan, royal correspondent

This will be the first statue of Queen Elizabeth II to be unveiled since her death - and it is likely to be the first of many.

If you think of the multitude of statues erected to another long-reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, there will almost certainly be many more such events as statues to Queen Elizabeth are opened in public squares and parks around the country.

This new statue in York has a traditional design - with the Queen in the robes of the Order of the Garter and wearing the George IV diadem. It's carved from Lepine stone, a pale French limestone that's been used for restoration work in the medieval minster.

It will be a poignant moment for King Charles to unveil this image of his mother, who died two months ago.

It was meant to be part of the celebrations of her Platinum Jubilee but is now commemorating her memory.

The Archbishop of York said: "I think for the King personally it's going to be a time of sadness, because this is his mother. But also it is an honour for us to receive him and to welcome him.

"It will be a time of great thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. I believe the new King Charles has made a very impressive start."

The King and Queen Consort will then travel to Doncaster to confer city status in a special ceremony at the Mansion House.

Their Majesties will be met by the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Dame Hilary Chapman, the civic mayor Cllr Ian Pearson and junior civic mayor, Evia Shaw-Lewis.

Road closures will be in place in both cities during the royal visits.