Below you’ll find a list of all the bank holidays in the UK for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2023.
Click here to see more information on bank holidays throughout the UK and on the following links for bank holidays specific to each UK country: bank holidays in England and Wales 2023, bank holidays in Scotland 2023 and bank holidays in Northern Ireland in 2023.
2 Jan* | Mon | New Year’s Day | All UK |
3 Jan* | Tue | 2nd January | Scotland |
17 Mar | Fri | St. Patrick’s Day | N. Ireland |
7 Apr | Fri | Good Friday | All UK |
10 Apr | Mon | Easter Monday | All UK (ex. Scotland) |
1 May | Mon | Early May Bank Holiday, May day | All UK |
8 May | Mon | Coronation Bank Holiday | All UK |
29 May | Mon | Spring Bank Holiday | All UK |
12 Jul | Wed | Battle of the Boyne | N. Ireland |
7 Aug | Mon | Summer Bank Holiday | Scotland |
28 Aug | Mon | Late Summer August Bank Holiday | All UK (ex. Scotland) |
30 Nov | Thu | St. Andrew’s Day | Scotland |
25 Dec | Mon | Christmas Day | All UK |
26 Dec | Tues | Boxing Day | All UK |
Note: A date marked with an asterisk (or a *) is in lieu of, or a substitute for, the actual bank holiday should it fall on a weekend.
Going into 2023, there will be an added bonus for everyone, with the announcement of an extra bank holiday to mark the King's Coronation.
Britain has on average, eight public holidays a year, but in recent years, extra holidays have often been added to mark Royal events. In 2022, bank holidays were added to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, as well as to allow people to observe her funeral.
With King Charles III's Coronation date being announced as Saturday, May 6, many people had wondered if there would be an extra bank holiday to mark the occasion. In 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, June 2 was named "Coronation Day" and a bank holiday was declared.
On Sunday, November 6, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed there would be a bank holiday for the King's Coronation. It will take place on Monday, May 8, two days after the Coronation, to avoid clashing with local election in the previous week.
READ MORE: Trees from Platinum Jubilee sculpture to be planted across UK in honour of Queen
The next bank holiday is set to be on Monday December 26 - Boxing Day. That's because the bank holiday for Christmas Day, which falls in a Sunday this year, is moving to Tuesday, December 27.
The first bank holiday in 2023 will be on Monday January 2 - a substitute day for New Year's Day, which also falls on a Sunday. There will then by no bank holiday until Good Friday, which falls on April 7 this year.
Here is a full list of all the confirmed bank holidays for the remainder of 2022 and 2023:
Bank holidays 2022
- Monday, 26 December - Boxing Day
- Tuesday, 27 December - Christmas Day (substitute day)
Bank holidays 2023
- Monday, 2 January - New Year's Day (substitute day)
- Friday, 7 April - Good Friday
- Monday, 10 April - Easter Monday
- Monday, 1 May - Early May bank holiday
- Monday, 8 May - Coronation bank holiday
- Monday, 29 May - Spring bank holiday
- Monday, 28 August - Summer bank holiday
- Monday, 25 December - Christmas Day
- Tuesday, 26 December - Boxing Day
Substitute days mark holidays that fall on the weekend, meaning the bank holiday skips forward to the next working day. Meanwhile, spring and summer bank holidays move dates each year depending on when the relevant Mondays fall in the calendar.
The first "bank holiday" was held in 1871, when Sir John Lubbock, a banker, added four days to the two common law holidays (Good Friday and Christmas Day) that were already observed. The new holidays were Easter Monday, Whit Monday (later to be changed to the Spring Bank Holiday), the first Monday in August (now moved to the end of the month) and Boxing Day. The were called bank holidays because banks tended to close.
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