King Charles' coronation: UK to get an extra bank holiday to celebrate 'historic occasion'

Buckingham Palace announced on 11th October that the Coronation of his Majesty the King will take place on Saturday, 6th May 2023.

What we know so far

According to the statement released by Buckingham Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct the ceremony, during which both King Charles and his wife, Camilla, The Queen Consort, will be crowned. The statement declared:

The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.

The Mail on Sunday reports that the King has axed many ancient traditions ‘in recognition that the world has changed in the past 70 years.’ Reports claim that the ceremony itself has been cut back to an hour as opposed to the three-hour-long coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

These changes come at a time when the people of Britain are struggling with the current cost-of-living crisis, something to which the King is acutely attuned.

Another noticeable change to the King’s coronation is that the event will occur on a Saturday. There are no rules as to when a monarch is officially crowned, but coronations aren’t traditionally held on weekends.

With the date for the ceremony falling on a weekend, there were no plans to give the people of Britain an extra day off.

An extra bank holiday approved

Despite original claims that Britons wouldn’t have an extra bank holiday to celebrate King Charles’s coronation, Downing Street has confirmed that a UK-wide holiday will fall on Monday, 8th May 2023. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year.

The Prime Minister also hopes the extra day will allow families and communities to come together and celebrate.

The chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, also believes this extra bank holiday will give people across the nation the opportunity to come together ‘as we mark this important day in our nation’s history’.

The move follows calls from Tory MPs to either move the May 1st bank holiday or to declare an extra day off.

Sources used:

- BBC News: Extra bank holiday approved to mark King’s coronation

- The Guardian: Extra bank holiday for coronation of King Charles III set for 8 May 2023

- The Mirror: King Charles Coronation: Everything we know – date, Bank Holiday plans and William role

- Royal.uk: The Coronation of His Majesty The King