The King’s coronation next year “needs to be done properly” despite economic turmoil in the UK, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.
The business secretary told Sky News “we don’t have coronations very often” and disputed that conversations about the cost of the ceremony could be compared to debates about rising wage demands.
Mr Rees-Mogg said the coronation “needs to be done properly” but refused to speculate how much the event, to be held on Saturday 6 May next year, will cost.
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“We don’t have coronations very often. I think the key to the coronation, actually, is that it’s a religious ceremony. It is effectively a sacrament,” he said.
“I hope we see a coronation that is sufficiently dignified for our sovereign. This is a one-off cost.
“The last one was a coronation for a reign of 70 years. So, this is not something that happens often. It needs to be done properly.”
Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that the coronation will take place in Westminster Abbey, eight months after the monarch’s accession and the death of the Queen, and will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
The Queen Consort will be crowned alongside the King.
It is thought the coronation will be more modest and shorter than previous ceremonies, with some suggesting it will last one hour.
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MPs call for bank holiday change
A number of MPs have called for the 1 May bank holiday to be pushed back until 8 May to give the country a long weekend, according to the Daily Mail.
David Jones, a Tory former cabinet minister, told the paper: “To combine the two events would be welcomed by the entire nation.
“It would make a very special memory for all of us.”
Khalid Mahmood, a Labour former frontbencher, agreed: “We can move the holiday back to the coronation weekend.
“We have a unique system with the monarchy and an independent parliament – I would back Britons having a three-day weekend to mark the occasion.”
The palace said the ceremony would “reflect the monarch’s role today and looks towards the future” while staying “rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry”.
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The life of Queen Elizabeth – a ‘selfless’ monarch who made Britain proud
The Queen’s coronation on 2 June 1953 was three hours long and had a congregation of 8,000 dignitaries. The event was broadcast live on television, attracting record-breaking audiences around the world.
Although the King succeeded to the throne when the Queen died, the coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch’s regal power.
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The King will be 74 next May, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history.
The service has been held in Westminster Abbey for 900 years.
