King Charles III’s coronation is tipped to take place on June 3, 2023, with Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg giving his backing for the occasion to be a bank holiday.
Mr Rees-Mogg has publicly offered his backing for an additional bank holiday to be added to the UK calendar, and insisted it will not hamper the economy in any big way.
“The coronation is an important symbolic act with constitutional resonance about the stability of our system,” he was quoted in The Telegraph as saying.
“To have a day off for that is perfectly reasonable, and the effect on growth will not be enormous.”
The UK had a four-day bank holiday weekend in June to celebrate the queen’s platinum jubilee and another public holiday in September for her funeral.
Some figures in Liz Truss’s new administration are said to be wary of how an extra bank holiday next year could suppress economic growth.
The coronation ceremony, set to be the first witnessed by many generations of Britons, will form the centrepiece of days of celebration to mark the beginning of the monarch’s reign.
The queen’s eldest son became king the moment his mother died but the coronation will be a public display of his accession to the throne. He will also take a series of vows as each monarch in the past had to.
UK officials said the date had been set for the ceremony, due to be held at Westminster Abbey.
Sources said planners are working towards that Saturday at the beginning of the summer, although discussions over which day — the Friday or the Sunday — will be a bank holiday are continuing.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Since the late queen died in early September, there has been speculation that an extra bank holiday would be declared for the king’s coronation.
Some reports suggested the king would push for June 2 as his coronation date in a tribute to his mother, as this was the date she was crowned in 1953.
By June next year, the king will be 74, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history.
He is said to be keen for a smaller, more low-key version of earlier ceremonies.
Representatives of different faiths are expected to be invited, as the king has indicated he will be the defender of all faiths, not only one.
He will be crowned alongside his wife, Queen Consort Camilla.
When Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953 more than 8,000 guests from 129 nations travelled to Westminster Abbey, with temporary platforms erected to seat the guests, including every member of the British aristocracy.
Safety restrictions mean that nowadays the church can only hold about 2,000, providing a headache for planners.
