Will there be a bank holiday for King Charles’ coronation?

King Charles III’s coronation will be held on Saturday 6 May 2023, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Camilla, Queen Consort, will be crowned alongside Charles at Westminster Abbey in London.

This means that the coronation will take place eight months after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, a shorter period than the Queen’s coronation in 1953.

While the Queen’s father, King George VI, died on 6 February 1952 making the then-Princess Elizabeth Queen, she was not coronated until 2 June 1953, 16 months after her father passed.

In a statement, the Palace said: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to announce that the coronation of His Majesty The King will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023.

“The coronation ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey, London, and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“The ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside the Queen Consort.

“The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in long standing traditions and pageantry.”

While the UK was given two extra bank holidays in 2022, one for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June and another for the day of the Queen’s funeral in September, it is unlikely that there will be a bank holiday for the King’s coronation.

The Queen’s coronation fell on a Tuesday, and this was declared as a bank holiday. Yet, as the Palace has put the King’s coronation on a weekend, it is unlikely that the government will call for a bank holiday either side of that weekend.

As the Early May Bank Holiday falls on Monday 1 May in 2023, the Monday before the coronation, it is not expected that another would be added in such quick succession.

A possibility is that this Early May Bank Holiday could be moved to Friday 5 May, but this has not been confirmed.

The religious event is expected to be an Anglican service on a smaller scale than the Queen’s coronation.

Guest numbers are expected to drop from 8,000 to 2,000 and the running time is expected to be cut from three hours to one hour.

During the ceremony, the King will be anointed, blessed and consecrated by the Archbishop.

King Charles is also expected to sign a proclamation formally declaring the date of the coronation at a meeting of the Privy Council later this year.