PRINCE Harry is to marry his girlfriend Meghan Markle in the spring, but there will be no bank holiday. 

Downing Street confirmed yesterday the Prime Minister had no plans to give the public an extra day off, as there was when Prince William married in 2011. 

With Harry's wedding most likely to be held in May - which already has two bank holidays - the government can't afford the reported £2.3 billion cost in lost productivity.

Though, for dedicated republicans looking looking to avoid the full on pomp and pageantry, the acres of red, white and blue bunting, and hundreds of minor celebs and posh people in big hats, the best solution might be a day in the office.

Even then it’s going to be hard to fully miss the ceremony and the relentless coverage and commentary.

You may need to leave the country.

If that’s not possible, then in order to minimise exposure, it might be best to cut down on social media, newspapers (though not The National obviously where we'll keep coverage to a minimum), watching TV, talking to your neighbours, public transport and being around other human beings.

Or you could go to Ulva in the Inner Hebrides. Currently trying to secure enough money for a community buyout, campaigners this weekend put out an appeal for people keen to join them on the island to get in touch.

You can probably find a spot there with no mobile reception, no broadband and no TV signal.

However, the engagement of the fifth-in-line to the throne to an American actress, and the resulting chatter, will provide much needed good news for Buckingham Palace, coming just weeks after investigations into leaked documents from a Caribbean law firm revealed that the Queen has money in accounts based in tax havens, and had invested in Bright House, the notorious, high interest rent-to-own retail firm.

In a statement yesterday the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh said they were “delighted” for their grandson and his bride-to-be, and that they “wish them every happiness”.

Harry’s brother William said he and his wife were “very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”

Markle’s parents wished their daughter and Harry “a lifetime of happiness”, adding: “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry.

“Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents.”

Markle, best known for her roles in hit US TV shows such as legal drama Suits, sci-fi thriller Fringe and 2011 film Horrible Bosses, will not become a princess, but will be made an HRH and a senior royal.

She's also a divorcee, a catholic and a woman of colour. Her marrying in to the Royal Family would have been unthinkable a decade ago. 

The daughter of a white father with Scottish ancestry and a mother she described as "100 percent black with dreadlocks," the 36 year-old is about to become the first non-white member of the Royal Family. Probably.

There's long been a theory that Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Queen of George III was descended from the Portugese Moors.

Even so, it's an historical moment.

In Glasgow, Labour activists booed a journalist who asked Jeremy Corbyn for his reaction to news of the engagement.

“Who cares?” heckled one party member. Corbyn, however, sent his congratulations to the couple: “I wish them well, I hope they have a great time and great fun together.”

Corbyn added: “I really do admire the way that Harry and his brother have drawn attention to mental health conditions all across the country.

“I wish him well, thank him for what he has done on mental health, hope they have a great life together.”

Though in an odd mix up, the BBC’s automated subtitling department accidentally transcribed Corbyn saying “his brother” as “Hezbollah”.

Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Congratulations to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Wishing them a lifetime of love and happiness together."