It’s official – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged.
The Prince of Wales officially made the announcement this morning, confirming the pair became engaged earlier this month.
Naturally, our attention is now turning to the most important part of all of this.
No, not the date or location of the wedding – the question of whether we’ll get time off work when they tie the knot.
What the Prime Minister has said
“I would like to offer my very warmest congratulations to HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their engagement,” Theresa May said in a statement.
“This is a time of huge celebration for two people in love and, on behalf of myself, the Government and the country, I wish them great happiness for the future.”
At the time of writing, the PM is yet to comment on potential Bank Holidays, and – according to a spokesman, the matter has not yet been discussed.
We can likely anticipate an official comment in due course.
What happened last time?
Of course, it is less than a decade since the last Royal Wedding, with Prince William and Kate Middleton marrying in April 2011.
That day was marked as a public holiday in the United Kingdom, with PM David Cameron confirming the news within a week of the engagement being announced, and you probably remember getting the day off work on 29 April that year.
Due to a quirk of the calendar, the previous Friday had also been a Bank Holiday, with Good Friday falling at the end of April in 2011, and the Monday before the wedding was Easter Monday.
No date has been announced for Harry and Meghan’s nuptials, though we do know it is due to take place in Spring 2018.
Meghan and Harry at the Invictus Games
What is different this time?
First of all, there’s the fact that Harry – unlike his older brother – isn’t a direct heir to the throne.
It may be the case that the 2011 holiday was tied into the fact that a future king was getting married, though Westminster may just recognise that we’re all in desperate need of some more time off.
There’s also the matter of the ceremony itself. While William and Kate’s wedding was a huge public spectacle, it has been suggested Harry and Meghan won’t opt for the same pomp and circumstance.
If there’s no big parade on the streets, maybe that will mean we’re all expected to just go to work as normal.
All we do know for now is that just as many of us seem obsessed with the potential day off as with the wedding itself – and it’s hardly surprising.
(Images: Rex Features)
