Moving early May bank holiday to coincide with King’s coronation ‘on the table’, No 10 says

Downing Street has said that “all options” remain on the table regarding moving the early May bank holiday to coincide with the King’s coronation – as Labour backed the proposal.

The event is due to take place on 6 May next year in Westminster Abbey, eight months after the monarch’s accession and the death of the Queen.

Number 10 said a bank holiday for King Charles’s coronation is still “on the table”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Obviously, this will be a historic event. We are carefully considering our plans. All options remain on the table.”

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Meanwhile, Labour has suggested that pushing the 1 May bank holiday back until Monday 8 May to give the country a long weekend would be a “good way for the country to be able to celebrate”.

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said: “Moving the May bank holiday that there is for that weekend would be a good idea.”

The announcement of the date for the King’s coronation yesterday sparked calls from a number of MPs for a change to the May bank holiday in order to mark the event.

Tory former cabinet minister David Jones told the Daily Mail: “To combine the two events would be welcomed by the entire nation.

“It would make a very special memory for all of us.”

Former Labour frontbencher Khalid Mahmood agreed, adding: “We can move the holiday back to the coronation weekend.

“We have a unique system with the monarchy and an independent parliament – I would back Britons having a three-day weekend to mark the occasion.”

Earlier today, Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky news that the King’s coronation next year “needs to be done properly” despite the current economic turmoil in the UK.

The business secretary said “we don’t have coronations very often” and disputed that conversations about the cost of the ceremony could be compared to debates about rising wage demands.

But he refused to speculate how much the event will cost.

It is thought the coronation will be more modest and shorter than previous ceremonies, with some suggesting it will last one hour.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed the Queen Consort will be crowned alongside the King.

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The palace said the ceremony would “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future” while staying “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.

The Queen’s coronation on 2 June 1953 was three hours long and had a congregation of 8,000 dignitaries. The event was broadcast live on television, attracting record-breaking audiences around the world.

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Although the King succeeded to the throne when the Queen died, the coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch’s regal power.

The King will be 74 next May, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history.

The service has been held in Westminster Abbey for 900 years.