A Bank Holiday could be held to mark the King’s coronation next May, Downing Street has confirmed.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said “all options remain on the table” on how best to mark the event.
There have been calls from some MPs for the existing May Bank Holiday, due to take place at the start of the month, to be pushed back a week to mark the coronation on May 6.
Asked about the idea today, the PM’s spokesperson said: “Obviously this will be a historic event. We are carefully considering our plans. All options remain on the table.”
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the Labour leader also backed a coronation Bank Holiday on May 8.
He said: “That would be certainly a good way for the country to be able to celebrate the coronation.
“Moving the May bank holiday that there is for that weekend would be a good idea.”
It is understood that the coronation will be a scaled back affair compared to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
However, business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg this morning said that whatever the cost to the taxpayer, it will be money well spent.
He told Sky News: “We don’t have coronations very often. I think the key to the coronation, actually, is that it’s a religious ceremony. It is effectively a sacrament.”
“He said discussions around the cost could not be compared to debates about rising pay demands, although he declined to get into speculation about a precise figure for how much it might cost.
“I hope we see a coronation that is sufficiently dignified for our sovereign. This is a one-off cost.
“The last one was for coronation for a reign of 70 years. So, this is not something that happens often, it needs to be done properly.”