It’s been six months since Queen Elizabeth II passed away and her son Prince Charles stepped into the role as the new monarch. He will officially become King Charles III when the coronation happens in May, but the main thing we want to know is: do we get a public holiday?
Do we get a public holiday for the King’s coronation?
As Australia is part of the Commonwealth, we’re partial to a lot of the same holidays and traditions as our British friends. When the Queen died last September, the Australian government provided a one-off public holiday marking her loss.
King Charles’ coronation is set to take place on Saturday, May 6 at around 8:00 pm AEST and will be acknowledged with a Bank holiday in the UK on Monday the 8th.
Do we get the same treatment in Australia? It’s looking unlikely.
There’s less than a month to go before the coronation takes place, and the federal government is yet to announce a public holiday for the event.
Individual states can still call a public holiday if they choose to, and Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has said he will consider it. It’s yet to be seen if any of the other states make a similar move.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be in attendance at the coronation along with an Australian delegation.
Fellow Commonwealth country New Zealand has already confirmed it will not be marking the occasion with a public holiday, so it’s possible Australia will follow their lead.
In reality, with the coronation happening on a weekend, it’s not like we need a day off to watch the ceremony, either. That being said, if King Charles isn’t giving us a public holiday, what else is he really doing for us?
Should the government end up calling a public holiday for the coronation, just remember you can ask your employer to swap the date of your day off if you disagree with its premise.
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