An exclusive Royal Central poll shows that more than nine out of ten people believe there should be a public holiday to commemorate The Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee at some point in 2017.
More than 1,000 people were polled online and close to 93% said that they support the idea of having a bank holiday to celebrate Her Majesty’s life and service to the country and Commonwealth.
Just 7% of people were opposed to there being a public holiday, citing that it should be a time to remember the passing of The Queen’s father, King George VI.
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Analysis by Charlie Proctor, Royal Central’s Editor-in-Chief
It comes as no surprise that the majority of people feel that The Queen’s 65th year should be publicly celebrated.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has not ruled out the idea, meaning it is still a possibility.
There is concern that a public holiday would be seen as insensitive to Her Majesty as it could be viewed as celebrating her father’s death.
If a holiday was held on February 6th, this would certainly not be appropriate.
However, just like the Coronation in 1952, a June public holiday would be seen as a joyous occasion for celebration.
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The results of this poll came just after Conservative MP for Romford Andrew Rosindell called for celebrations and street parties to be held in June to allow people to commemorate the milestone that only Her Majesty has reached.
He will introduce the Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee Bill into the Commons on Tuesday, seeking to cross-party support for a law allowing celebrations across the UK, its overseas territories and Crown dependencies.
Mr Rosindell said: “It’s almost certainly going to be a very long time before any monarch gets anywhere near 65 years.
“It’s the first time we’ve had any Sapphire Jubilee and if we let this go by and don’t have some sort of national day of celebration, it’ll be a missed opportunity.
“It’s also for the young people – I remember the Silver Jubilee as a kid and learnt how important these national occasions are.
“I have personally spoken to Theresa May about the idea and she was certainly positive in her approach to this.”
