OCCASIONALLY, I have glanced at an impressive tomb in a fairly isolated position within Worcester Cathedral, but only recently have I been aware of the noble personage whose remains lie below it.

The tomb is that of Sir Griffyth Ryce, making it a last resting place with significant Royal associations.

It's in the Cathedral's south-east transept and lies, appropriately, in the shadow of Prince Arthur's Chantry, the burial place of the ill-fated elder son and heir of King Henry VII. The Prince of Wales' untimely death at Ludlow Castle, in 1502, changed the whole course of English history.

He succumbed to the "sweating sickness" at only 15, and his younger brother went on to become Henry VIII and the second husband of his widow, Catherine of Aragon.

Sir Griffyth Ryce was a member of Prince Arthur's Household and played a prominent role in his funeral procession and in his burial service at Worcester Cathedral.

A written record of the time states that for the procession of the "rich chariot" bearing Prince Arthur's body from Ludlow to Worcester, Sir Griffyth Ryce, "in mourning habit, rode next before the leading horse on a courser trapped with black, bearing the Prince's banner."

During the funeral service in Worcester Cathedral, Sir Griffyth Ryce again carried Prince Arthur's "rich embroidered banner." The "noble knight" himself died in 1523, as is recorded on his tomb.

On Friday, May 3, the funeral of Prince Arthur is to be re-enacted at Worcester as a tourist event of national significance during the Queen's Golden Jubilee Year.

Permission has been sought of and given by Her Majesty for a Requiem to be held in Worcester Cathedral on this, the 500th anniversary of Prince Arthur's burial.

The authentic re-enactment of the funeral service in full costumes of the Tudor period will be the centrepiece of a weekend of events being called Arthur - the Forgotten Prince.

A torch-lit procession will pass through the Worcester's streets with of a banner-covered hearse pulled by black stallions and accompanied by choirs and muffled drums, as the funeral cortege heads for the Cathedral on the re-enactment evening of Friday, May 3 from 6.30 to 9 p.m.

Exhibitions, history promotions for schools and colleges and lectures by top experts on Tudor times will be among the events of the commemoration weekend.