PEOPLE came to York from all over the world yesterday as the last Yorkist King was laid to rest.

Richard III's re-internment at Leicester Cathedral was followed by a Solemn Choral Evensong service at York Minster to commemorate and understand more about the 32-year-old king's life and times.

Later in the evening, a procession was led by the civic party and senior clergy from the Minster Piazza, along Stonegate to St Helen’s Square and to the Mansion House.

York's series of events were held following the funeral in Leicester, the city which won the right to keep Richard III there when his remains were found underneath a car park in September 2012.

Cllr Ian Gillies, The Lord Mayor of York, attended the service and addressed the crowds outside the city's historic Mansion House.

He said: "The Museums Trust, University of York and City of York Council have joined together at the Minster to commemorate Richard's internment through an Evensong, and I was honoured to take part in both the service and statement outside the Mansion House.

"I believe people came from all over the world to York and it shows the interest in Richard III, and long may that continue.

"He was an adopted son of York and his memory will be remembered through the efforts of the Richard III society and other exhibitions."

Learning more about the King, who ruled between 1483 and 1485 before his death during The Battle of Bosworth Fields, has seen programmes like Richard III: Rumour and Reality run throughout the city's museums before drawing to a close last summer.

Vivienne Faull the dean of York Minster has previously told The Press how the people of Yorkshire deserve to pay their respects to the former monarch.

She said: "On the evening of the re-interment of King Richard III it is right that the people of York and Yorkshire will have the opportunity to gather in the Minster to pray and to remember the death of the King at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

"I am glad the cathedrals of both York and Leicester will take the opportunity of the re-interment to give thanks for the peace of our realm and to pray for reconciliation for those who are caught up in conflict in our own day."

York Press:
The crowd listens to the reading by the Lord Mayor of York