Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding could keep pubs open late
By Suzanne Baum
On May 19, pubs in Britain may let revellers toast Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for longer than usual. In fact, the proposal is for the entire weekend, with opening hours extended until 1am for the Royal Wedding, which will take place in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
READ: Everything we know about Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding
Ministers will begin a public consultation on the proposals, which will see licensing hours in England and Wales extended on the evenings of Friday, May 18, and Saturday, May 19. Launching a four-week consultation on the plans, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "The Royal Wedding will be a time of national celebration, and we want everyone to be able to make the most of such an historic occasion.
"I hope that this relaxation of the licensing hours will allow people to extend their festivities and come together to mark what will be a very special moment for the country."
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Football fans will no doubt raise a glass if the plans go ahead as the wedding coincides with the FA Cup final.
In the past, pub licensing hours have been extended for a number of royal and other engagements, including the Queen's 90th birthday in 2016, the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, and the football World Cup in 2014. The British Beer & Pub Association said the extended hours would give a £10m boost to the drinks industry.
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![At the Forum, Charles delivered <a href=https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speech/speech-hrh-prince-wales-world-holocaust-forum-yad-vashem-jerusalem>a moving and powerful speech</a> in which he said humanity "must never cease to be appalled, nor moved by the testimony of those who lived through [the Holocaust]." He also recognized his grandmother's work and Israel's recognition of it in his remarks, and said calling out hatred is always important.
<p>"All too often, language is used which turns disagreement into dehumanization," he said. "Words are used as badges of shame to mark others as enemies, to brand those who are different as somehow deviant. All too often, virtue seems to be sought through verbal violence. All too often, real violence ensues, and acts of unspeakable cruelty are still perpetrated around the world against people for reasons of their religion, their race or their beliefs.
<p>"Knowing, as we do, the darkness to which such behaviour leads, we must be vigilant in discerning these ever-changing threats; we must be fearless in confronting falsehoods and resolute in resisting words and acts of violence. And we must never rest in seeking to create mutual understanding and respect. We must tend the earth of our societies so that the seeds of division cannot take root and grow. And we must never forget that every human being is be-tselem Elokim - 'in the image of God' - and even a single human life is ke-olam malei - 'like an entire universe.'"
<p>Photo; © Abir Sultan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images](/images/stories/0/2020/01/24/000/755/130/thumb_featured_5_3.jpg)
