When is King Charles III's coronation and do we get a bank holiday? Confirmed 2023 date and ceremony details

It's official! We have a date for King Charles III's coronation - and we've shared when the big day is, plus important details on what the ceremony will involve.

The first details of King Charles's upcoming coronation have been unveiled by Buckingham Palace - and its safe to say that the coronation date has had mixed reactions from a few, as uncertainty remains around whether the day will be a recognised bank holiday - much like the Queen's coronation.

Whilst some questions remain unanswered, we do now have information on where King Charles III's coronation will be held, plus how his wife - called "Queen Camilla" on the official invitation - will be involved in proceedings. We've shared everything to know about the coronation so far, addressing factors like how much King Charles' coronation will cost too. And if you want to know more about the events surrounding the historic occasion, find out who could be performing at the Coronation Concert.

When is King Charles III's coronation? Confirmed date

Buckingham Palace have confirmed that the coronation of King Charles III will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May, 2023. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will conduct the ceremony.

"The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside The Queen Consort," continued the statement on the Royal Family website. "The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry."

King Charles's coronation date will mark around eight months since Queen Elizabeth II's death on 8 September, 2022. This is notably a quicker turn around in a coronation than Queen Elizabeth experienced following the death of her father (February 1952). The former Queen waited 16 months before her coronation took place on June 1953.

Will we get a bank holiday for the coronation?

For those who want to know how many Bank Holidays are in 2023, King Charles III's coronation falls on a Saturday, so it currently seems unlikely that the UK will get a bank holiday on the day of the coronation itself. 

This being said, the Palace or Parliament have yet to officially confirm the bank holiday arrangements surrounding the coronation. 

The Queen's coronation back in June 1953 fell on a Tuesday and as such the day was declared a bank holiday. But with Charles's coronation taking place on a weekend day - when some people may already be off work - a bank holiday may not be deemed necessary.

It was reported that another Bank Holiday to commemorate the coronation could also come with economic disadvantages. The Telegraph shared that the extra bank holiday could come at a cost of £1.36 billion to the UK economy. And this figure is certainly alarming to some given the vulnerability of the British pound on the global financial market - plus the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Despite proposed economic setbacks, some MPs have publicly disclosed that they hope for a bank holiday due to the historical relevance of the event. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Telegraph: "The coronation is an important symbolic act with constitutional resonance about the stability of our system. To have a day off for that is perfectly reasonable and the effect on growth will not be enormous."

There's also the matter of the Early May Bank Holiday on Monday 1 May 2023 also falling close to the coronation date. This might mean that with a bank holiday so close to Charles's big day, another one might not be granted. 

Or as was the case for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations - the Bank Holiday could be moved to the Friday before to make it an extra-long bank holiday weekend. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out.

Will King Charles's coronation be televised?

Although it has not been confirmed, it is considered highly likely that King Charles III's coronation will be televised, as was the case with his mother's coronation. 

Queen Elizabeth II was the first coronation to be broadcast on television, with the global event attracting an audience of over 20 million people. The TV audience was also reported to have outnumbered the radio audience for the first time.

Since then a number of royal events have also been televised - such as Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding. Prince Philip's funeral and the recent state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II were also broadcasted. According to The Guardian, the Queen’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey was watched by 29.2 million people on television in the UK.

With the coronation of King Charles III being a historical moment and the start of a new era in the UK - it is thought that such an important event will be broadcast on both television and radio, with channels like BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky all likely featuring coverage.

Which crown will Charles wear at his coronation?

King Charles III will wear the St Edward's Crown at his coronation ceremony - the same crown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her 1953 coronation. Made in 1661, it's named after Edward the Confessor - of whom it once belonged to.

The precious crown is made up of 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, four rubies and 269 pearls. And according to the Tower of London - where it's been looked after since the 1600s - St Edward's Crown weighs a whopping 2.23kg (nearly 5lbs).

"St Edward’s Crown is the most important and sacred of all the crowns. It is only used at the moment of crowning itself," says the Historic Royal Palaces website. 

It is not to be confused with the Imperial State Crown - another crown that will be used on the day. King Charles III will wear this crown when he leaves Westminster Abbey after the coronation. It's also worn at events such as the annual State Opening of Parliament.

Will Camilla get crowned?

Yes, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III's wife Camilla Parker-Bowles will also be crowned officially in her capacity as Queen Consort. "A Queen Consort is crowned with the King, in a similar, but simpler ceremony," read a statement on the Royal Family website.

The Queen Mother - aka wife of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth's mother - was the last Queen Consort to be crowned alongside their husband. During the King's coronation in 1937 she was annointed with holy oil. The Queen's ring was then placed on her hand, her crown on her head, with the sceptre and ivory rod being held in each hand. It finished with the Queen Mother bowing to her husband.

It's expected that Camilla will perform a similar ritual when she is crowned Queen Consort on May 6, 2023.

How much will King Charles III's coronation cost?

There is no confirmed sum on how much King Charles II's coronation will cost as yet. But based on the cost of similar royal events over the years, the figure is expected to run into the millions. 

According to the Metro, the Queen's own iconic coronation cost £1.57 million at the time in 1953 - this equates to around £46 million in today's money.

One of the biggest expenidtures of the coronation will no doubt be security. The Evening Standard reports that the security cost for the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 was £8.1 million alone.  Meanwhile the security at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cost £6.35 million (via Press Association) whilst Business Insider claims that security at Harry and Meghan's nuptials was £30 million.

Sources from Operation Golden Orb - the name given to the planning of Charles's coronation - have shared that a "shorter, sooner, smaller and less expensive" coronation is hoped to be achieved. Nevertheless, the affair is still thought to come with a hefty price tag, especially considering that security is one factor in the day's planning.

Related features:

• What time is the coronation of King Charles III?
• Are shops open on coronation day?
• How to watch King Charles' coronation on TV
• Are trains running on coronation day?
• Are Prince Harry and Meghan going to the coronation?

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