An additional bank holiday will mark the coronation of King Charles III next year.

The holiday is meant to allow families and communities across the UK to "come together to celebrate" the new monarch. 

Downing Street said the holiday will fall on Monday, May 8 following the coronation at Westminster Abbey which will take place two days earlier on Saturday, May 6. 

The bank holiday will be in addition to an existing day off on May 1. 

Tory MPs previously called for the Government to either move the early May bank holiday from May 1 to coincide with the coronation weekend or to declare an extra day off.

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The coronation of a new monarch is a unique moment for our country.

“In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year.

“I look forward to seeing people come together to celebrate and pay tribute to King Charles III by taking part in local and national events across the country in his honour.”

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, said: “The coronation combines the sacred and the solemn but it is also celebratory.

“This bank holiday will once again give people across the United Kingdom the opportunity to come together as families and communities to welcome His Majesty to the throne as we mark this important day in our nation’s long history.”