When are the bank holidays in 2023? Full list of UK dates and if there’s a bank holiday for the coronation
The UK has had two extra bank holidays in 2022, the first to mark the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and a second on the date of the Queen’s funeral.
Next year, it is possible that royal events could again change our usual pattern of long weekends – although it has not yet been announced if King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May will be marked with a holiday.
Here are the current bank holiday dates for 2023, according to the Government, and all we know about what will happen when the new monarch is crowned.
Will there be a bank holiday for the coronation?
The date of King Charles’ coronation falls on a Saturday, and it has not yet been confirmed whether there will be any arrangements for a bank holiday before or after weekend.
Coronations have not traditionally been held on a weekend, with the late Queen’s taking place on Tuesday 2 June 1953.
Major royal events are often marked with a bank holiday, such as the date of Queen’s funeral and the extra day off to mark her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.
But there are already two bank holidays schedule for May 2023, and the Daily Mirror reported that there will not be an extra day off for the coronation, citing Government sources, although this has not been confirmed officially.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Business Secretary, hinted that a new public holiday was a possibility following the announcement of the coronation date.
He told the BBC: “I think that having a bank holiday for a coronation seems to me the eminently suitable thing to do.
“But there is a process that has to be gone through and it has to be approved ultimately by the Privy Council.”
An extra bank holiday is being backed by Britain’s tourism industry despite fears it may stifle economic growth.
VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, said if the coronation of King Charles was marked with an bank holiday it would be a “welcome and valuable boost” that could help to “kick-start the season.”
For the jubilee, the spring bank holiday at the end of May was moved to Thursday 2 June and Friday 3 June became an additional bank holiday, creating a four-day weekend.
But the two-day bank holiday was partially blamed after the UK economy contracted by 0.6 per cent in June.
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When are the UK bank holidays in 2023?
Bank holiday dates slightly across the UK: England and Wales always have the same bank holidays, but Scotland and Northern Ireland have some of their own dates.
For example, Scotland’s summer bank holiday falls at the start of August, rather than the end of the month.
All four nations used to mark the same date, following the implementation of the Bank Holidays Act of 1871, introduced by the Liberal Politician Sir John Lubbock.
However, the date for England, Wales and Northern Ireland moved permanently to the end of August in 1971, following a trial period which started in 1965.
England and Wales bank holidays 2023
- Monday 2 January – New Year’s Day (substitute day)
- Friday 7 April – Good Friday
- Monday 10 April – Easter Monday
- Monday 1 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 29 May – Spring bank holiday
- Monday 28 August – Summer bank holiday
- Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day
Scotland bank holidays 2023
- Monday 2 January – New Year’s Day (substitute day)
- Tuesday 3 January – 2nd January (substitute day)
- Friday 7 April – Good Friday
- Monday 1 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 29 May – Spring bank holiday
- Monday 7 August – Summer bank holiday
- Thursday 30 November – St Andrew’s Day
- Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day
Northern Ireland bank holidays 2023
- Monday 2 January – New Year’s Day (substitute day)
- Friday 17 March – St Patrick’s Day
- Friday 7 April – Good Friday
- Monday 10 April – Easter Monday
- Monday 1 May – Early May bank holiday
- Monday 29 May – Spring bank holiday
- Wednesday 12 July – Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day)
- Monday 28 August – Summer bank holiday
- Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day
The first bank holiday of the year, for New Year’s Day, will be a substitute taking place on Monday 2 January, due to 1 January falling on a Sunday.
However, for the first time since 2019 both Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be marked with bank holidays on the correct days, after falling on the weekend for three years in a row.
