BEFORE the start of the inauguration there was an announcement that "The Royal Presence" would not be with us.

The service programme had the Duke of Gloucester as the representative of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. We were told his helicopter was not working. The duke therefore took the train - but that was stuck in Stevenage.

Can anyone say why the royals insist on travelling everywhere by helicopter? Most people would agree that what happened in the Minster on Wednesday was significant and not just for the Church of England.

Why could not a royal presence have come up the previous day and risked a night in a Yorkshire bed? They did it for Ascot. Then the service would have been complete.

However, in the end, it did not matter. The inauguration unfolded with the pomp of the procession and fanfare. The simplicity of the presentation of the archbishop's family, the sanctity of the anointing and the dancing and drumming saying "Sentamu is here" made it an event for those who wanted to be there.

The previous archbishop gave us hope that christianity is still relevant; this Watchman of the North - as the job spec in the programme described him - showed real joy changes lives.

Harold Mozley,

Blakeney Place, York.

Updated: 16:41 Friday, December 02, 2005