Pub opening hours could be extended for the royal wedding
Industry hopes move will bring £10m in trade
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Your support makes all the difference.Pub opening hours could be extended on 18 and 19 May to mark the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The Home Office is looking to allow bars and other licensed premises to remain open until 1am for the wedding – which coincides with the FA Cup final.
The prince and his fiancee are due to wed on 18 May at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Licensing hours were previously extended for the wedding of Harry’s brother William to Kate Middleton in 2011 and for the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016.
Launching a four-week consultation on the plans, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “The Royal Wedding will be a time of national celebration, and we want everyone to be able to make the most of such an historic occasion.
“I hope that this relaxation of the licensing hours will allow people to extend their festivities and come together to mark what will be a very special moment for the country.”
Chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, Brigid Simmonds, said the extended hours could bring in £10m to the pub trade.
She added: “Visitors see the Great British pub as a cultural icon, almost as much as the Royal Family.”
PA
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