News broke this evening over the coronation date of King Charles III – but many people in one Cornish town will have realised a very significant clash.

For while May 6, 2023 may have been free in the diary of Buckingham Palace, it is not for the thousands of Helstonians and those further afield who had planned to be celebrating Flora Day on that date.

Although traditionally held on May 8, next year this will fall on a Monday – which Flora Day is never held on, due to this historically being market day.

No decision has yet been made on what will happen now, although it is understood that Helston Flora Day Committee already had a meeting scheduled for next week and it is expected that this will be a topic of discussion at it.

While the Palace probably had other priorities to consider when picking a date, it is an unfortunate clash for the former Duke of Cornwall, given it is one of the biggest days in the Cornish calendar – not just for Helston but with people from all over the Duchy attending, not to mention Helstonians who have moved to other parts of the country returning for the special day.

And although Prince Charles probably hasn’t attended the event, it’s possible one of his brothers may have done – or at the very least will be aware of it.

Prince Andrew was actually based in Helston while he trained as a helicopter pilot at RNAS Culdrose.

He underwent training there in 1981 and later saw action in the South Atlantic during the Falklands War, eventually returning with his fellow members of 820 Squadron after 166 days at sea with the carrier HMS Invincible.

Buckingham Palace has said the ceremony will be “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry” but also “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future”.

The coronation will take place in Westminster Abbey, eight months after the monarch’s accession and the death of the Queen, with the Queen Consort being crowned alongside Charles.

May 6 is also the birthday of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie – Charles’s grandson – who will be turning four on the day, and the date was the wedding anniversary of the late Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, while the King’s grandfather George VI similarly held his coronation in the month of May.

Read more about the details here: Buckingham Palace confirms exact date of King Charles' coronation next year