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Day off confirmed for King's visit

Day off confirmed for King's visit

Tuesday 18 June 2024

Day off confirmed for King's visit

Tuesday 18 June 2024


The hundreds of people who responded positively to an Express survey should be happy today, after the announcement that a public holiday has been declared for the King's visit.

His Majesty and his Queen Consort will be in Guernsey for the day on 16 July.

The visit was announced last week, with plans for the day due to be confirmed closer to the time.

As it is King Charles III first visit as Monarch the decision has been made to mark it with a public holiday for everyone.

That means that children attending States run schools in Guernsey and Herm - who will be in their final week of term - will have the day off lessons, while the majority of businesses will be able to close for the day. 

King public holiday

Pictured: The decision to make 16 July a public holiday this summer was announced by the Committee for Economic Development earlier today.

Earlier this week, Express launched a reader poll to establish what support there would be for a public holiday on the date of the King's visit.

There was immediate overwhelming support for the idea.

Of over a thousand respondents in 24 hours, more than two thirds said they would like Guernsey to declare a public holiday for the King's visit because they would like to go and see him, and Queen Camilla.

A tenth supported the idea of a public holiday but would not go to see the Royal couple, while fewer still said they did not support the idea of a public holiday whether they would like to see the King and Queen or not. 

Just 37 people, out of a total of 1061 people said they couldn't care less either way.

King poll

Pictured: A straw poll held by Express showed there was overwhelming support for a public holiday to mark the King and Queen's visit.

The Committee for Economic Development has the power to assign public holidays, and in a statement released today, the committee said it had agreed that a public holiday is right "to recognise the historic significance of the first visit of His Majesty King Charles III, since his Accession to the throne".

It said the decision had been made because of the importance of Guernsey’s constitutional relationship as a Crown Dependency, and the tradition of holding a public holiday for the visits by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, dating back to 1957.

His Majesty will be in Jersey the day before - on Monday 15 July - with events on Tuesday 16 July likely to be focused on the St Peter Port seafront where members of the public will be able to gather. 

The President of the Committee for Economic Development, Deputy Neil Inder said “I’m extremely pleased to be able to announce the decision by our Committee to hold a public holiday for the visit by Their Majesties, their first as King and Queen. It is an historic occasion and a cause for celebration."

It has previously been estimated that the cost of adding a public holiday to the island's calendar costs as much as £600,000. This is made up through a combination of lost revenue and earnings, and expenses that business's and States departments incur. 

Deputy Inder said the economic impact has been taken into account in making this decision, but they had to move quickly. 

"I do appreciate that this decision unavoidably comes at short notice for some, including those who will still need to staff their businesses and services," he said.

"Ordinarily we would have taken time to consult with them but I’m sure they’ll appreciate the speed at which we have had to make this decision, given how soon the visit will be.

"Most of all, I hope the public holiday will afford as many people as possible the opportunity to come out to see Their Majesties while they are here.”

queen King Charles

Pictured: The Queen last visited Guernsey in 2005, while her son, then Prince of Wales, last toured the Bailiwick in 2012. 

A number of public holidays are observed in Guernsey every year, including Liberation Day and New Year's Day - while Christmas Day and Good Friday (and all Sundays) are described as 'customary law holidays'.

Other dates like the early and late May and the end of August bank holidays are prescribed as public holidays by law. 

The decision to make 16 July 2024 a public holiday is only applicable to Guernsey, Herm, and Jethou meaning any decision over whether it will also be a public holiday in Alderney and Sark will be made by each island respectively. 

On this occasion, the King will only set foot on Guernsey but representatives of both Alderney and Sark have been invited to join in with events here.

It has been suggested by some people that it could be the only visit he makes to the island as King.

He is now 75 years old, and has recently been having treatment for cancer after treatment for an enlarged prostate earlier this year.

His mother, Queen Elizabeth II last visited the Channel Islands in 2005 when she was 79 years old and believed to have been in good health.

In recent years, Economic Development has agreed public holidays when significant events involving the Royal Family have taken place. 

In 2022, an additional public holiday date was declared to mark the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The May bank holiday was adjusted to the beginning of June to create a four-day weekend for the Jubilee celebrations. A further public holiday was observed in September of that year, after Her Majesty's death to enable people to watch her funeral. 

When King Charles III was crowned in May last year, an additional public holiday was declared then too.

His Majesty's coronation was held on Saturday 6 May, with Monday 8 May being designated a public holiday, along with 9 May for Liberation Day as is customary in Guernsey, creating another four-day weekend. 

Previous royal visits to Guernsey have been a mixture of public holidays or not. 

When the-then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall last visited in July 2012, it was not a public holiday.

When his mother, Queen Elizabeth II last visited it was on Liberation Day 2005, which was already a public holiday. 

READ MORE...

POLL: Public holiday for the King?

King to visit in July

FOCUS: Why is the King our Duc?

The King's visits

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