AS Prince William prepares to marry Kate Middleton on April 29, many still remember the marriage of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, on July 29, 1981, as the greatest fairytale wedding of them all.

The nation, and the world, were transfixed with awe at the beauty of the bride, and the pomp and grandeur of the occasion. The images are still haunting 30 years on.

That marriage didn’t endure, but the royal wedding held here in York 20 years earlier, on June 8, 1961, did. And in its way, the wedding of Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, to Miss Katharine Worsley, of Hovingham Hall, was every bit as much of a fairytale.

Cheering crowds lined the streets as the royal couple approached the Minster.

Inside the great Gothic cathedral, a youthful-looking Queen, her husband Prince Philip, a very young-looking Prince Charles and the Queen Mother were among the royal guests.

The Duke of Kent, the Queen’s cousin, wore the full-dress uniform of his regiment, the Royal Scots Greys, while the bride was resplendent in a “gown of gossamer white silk gauze woven with a formal design in iridescent silvery thread”.

As she was led up to the altar by her father, Sir William Worsley, the train of her dress trailed behind her on the Minster’s stone floor.

Afterwards, the couple proceeded to Hovingham for a reception before flying to Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate, to begin their honeymoon.

In York, with the royal couple safely on their way, visitors queued in their thousands to go into the Minster to see the setting of what was dubbed the ‘White Rose Wedding’.

Our pictures today capture something of the magic of that day – one that will surely not be forgotten by those that were there.

• CAN’T wait for the royal wedding? Then don’t miss our supplement which comes free with The Press next Wednesday.

We bring you the complete guide to the day – with details about the wedding route, tips on Kate’s style, a guide to choosing the perfect royal wedding souvenir, and a profile of Kate herself. Plus there will be a chance to win a wedding for yourself or a loved one. All this free in your Press next Wednesday. Don’t forget.