Brits will not get to celebrate an extra bank holiday under King Charles 's plans for a slimmed down coronation, sources have revealed.
Buckingham Palace today announced the new King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey alongside his wife Camilla on Saturday, May 6.
Thousands are expected to flock to the capital to witness the historic event, while millions will watch the event broadcast around the world.
Organisers expect special events to be staged up and down the country, with many thousands of street parties taking place and big screens set up in town centres up across the United Kingdom.
But after high level discussions with the government, taking in a range of factors including clashes with sporting events, the availability of Westminster Abbey and the Archbishop of Canterbury and even the likelihood of favourable weather conditions, ministers have agreed it is "highly unlikely" there will be any extra time off.
The May 6 date, decided by the committee undertaking ‘Operation Orb’, falls in a month of two bank holidays - May Day on the first and May 29, the last Monday of the month.
One possibility discussed was to move the May Day bank holiday to the following Monday, May 8, although government sources have suggested this would "cause chaos" for businesses up and down the country.
The King is entirely in favour of the country coming together to celebrate the occasion, however, royal sources said he is acutely aware of the cost of living crisis enveloping the country and had personally approved plans for a "slimmed down celebration".
The King acceded to the throne on September 8, immediately on the death of his mother, Elizabeth II - the nation's longest-reigning monarch.
The deeply religious affair will take place in London’s historic Abbey, eight months after the monarch's accession and the death of the Queen.
The Mirror can reveal the ceremony will be “around 90 minutes long” and will "look and feel very different" to the last coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The Palace said the ceremony will be "rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry" but also "reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future".
A royal source said: "The coronation will be a spectacular occasion.
"It will of course represent the pomp and pageantry of old, while reflecting a modern Britain and certainly doesn't need to be a cut price coronation to achieve that."
Charles III will be anointed with holy oil, receive the orb, coronation ring and sceptre, be crowned with the majestic St Edward's Crown and blessed during the historic ceremony.
Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned, just like the Queen Mother was when she was crowned Queen in 1937.
The Palace said: "Buckingham Palace is pleased to announce that the coronation of His Majesty The King will take place on Saturday 6th 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 longstanding traditions and pageantry."
It is understood that the ceremony will include the same core elements of the traditional service, which has retained a similar structure for more than 1,000 years, while also recognising the spirit of our times.
The guest list for the ceremony will also be slashed from 8,000 to 2,000, with hundreds of nobles and parliamentarians missing out.
Discussions have been held about a more relaxed dress code, with peers possibly allowed to wear lounge suits instead of ceremonial robes.
Ancient and time-consuming rituals - including presenting the monarch with gold ingots - will reportedly be axed to save time, while the heir, Prince William is likely to play an important role in helping to plan the ceremony.
One major involvement will be the appearance of the 1762 Gold State Coach, which was refurbished at great expense for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, and will also once again be part of the Coronation procession.
A date of June 2 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the later Queen's coronation had been suggested, but the King showed no interest in overshadowing the historic anniversary.
The Epsom Derby and the FA Cup final are also due to take place on June 3, ruling the weekend out altogether.
Meteorologists were also consulted, reporting that statistically the weather is better in May than the beginning of the summer.
The racing industry was last night also beginning discussions as to whether the three day Guineas Festival would take place over the May weekend, as the coronation would affect the first two Classics of the season the 2000 Guineas and the 1000 Guineas on the Sunday.
The King's coronation also falls on the birthday of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son Archie.
Archie, Charles' grandson, turns four on Saturday, May 6 next year, when the King will be crowned amid great pageantry in Westminster Abbey.
It has not yet been confirmed who will attend the ceremony and whether or not Harry and Meghan will be among those invited, or whether they will be able to attend since it will be their eldest child's birthday.
