‘All options open’ on King Charles coronation bank holiday, says No 10

“All options are open” over whether to have a bank holiday to mark coronation, says Downing Street.

Buckingham Palace’s announcement on Tuesday that King Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May 2023 has sparked calls for a special day off to mark the occasion.

Some MPs have called for the scheduled bank holiday on 1 May to be delayed for a week until Monday 8 May to give the country a long weekend.

Prime minister Liz Truss’s official spokesperson today confirmed that No 10 is in discussions with the Palace, but said planning was at early stages.

Asked whether the May Day bank holiday might be moved or whether a new public holiday could be created, the spokesperson replied that “all options remain on the table”.

A decision will be announced “as soon as possible”, he added.

Ministers recognise that the coronation will be “a historic event watched and celebrated by millions across the country”, and are carefully considering the best way of marking it, he said.

But he added that the potential impact on businesses which might be forced to close by an additional bank holiday would also be taken into account.

A spokesperson for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that a bank holiday “would certainly be a good way for the country to be able to celebrate the coronation”.