Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding day 'should be Bank Holiday', MPs tell Theresa May

MPs have called on the Prime Minister to rethink plans for a Bank Holiday

EPA

Martin Coulter28 November 2017

MPs have urged Theresa May to have a rethink plans not to hold a Bank Holiday on the day of Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle.

The idea was initially dismissed by Downing Street, despite a Bank Holiday being granted for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said there were "no plans" for a public holiday when the couple get married next year.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen backed the idea saying the move would be “great news for the economy and for tourism".

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

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And his Tory colleague Andrew Rosindell told The Sun that the prince’s big day “must” be a bank holiday because his brother’s was.

He said: “Did we have one for William and Kate? I think we did, so why not Harry? Harry must get one too. Let’s make it a great royal celebration”.

Labour MP John Woodcock has also backed calls for the Government to change its position tweeting “only curmudgeons will be in the office anyway”.

There have previously been no Bank Holidays to mark the weddings of Prince Andrew or Prince Edward, in 1986 and 1999, respectively.

There was also no day off for Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding in 2005.

The Prime Minister initially dismissed the idea

But, as pointed out by many, a Bank Holiday was permitted to mark the wedding of Princess Anne in 1973 - meaning it can apply to those not directly in line to the throne.

Charles' marriage to Princess Diana in 1981 was also a national holiday. The upcoming wedding will take place in Spring 2018, Clarence House said.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle's 16-month whirlwind romance blossomed when they met through mutual friends in London and the pair have been almost inseparable in recent months with Ms Markle said to have virtually moved in to Harry's home at Kensington Palace.

In their first TV interview, shortly after the announcement, the couple revealed Harry got down on one knee during a "typical night in" at their home Nottingham Cottage, in the grounds of Kensington Palace.

He told the BBC that “the stars aligned” when he met Ms Markle.