Boozy Brits, rejoice!
Britain's government says pubs across the country will likely be allowed to say open two hours later than usual so that people can celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
"The Royal Wedding is a time of national celebration and we want everyone to be able to participate," James Brokenshire, minister for crime prevention at the Home Office, said in a statement. "We recognize that people may want to extend their festivities to mark this important occasion which is why we intend to allow pubs, bars, community and village halls and other licensed venues to be able to open later."
Ordinarily, most pubs must close at 11 p.m., unless they have a special license. But on April 29, the day of the big wedding, and April 30 (because a party like this one is presumably going to last at least two days), pubs could be allowed to sling drinks till 1 a.m.
The Home Office has launched a two-week public consultation to let people weigh in on the proposal.
The royal wedding day has already been declared a public holiday.
News that pub patrons will be given a few extra hours to raise a glass to the royal couple went over well with Brigid Simmons, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, who said this in a statement: "This is great news, and it is really good to see the government recognizing that this is a brilliant opportunity for us all to get together in the pub, to celebrate a great national event."
Dave McGinn