Everyone loves a bank holiday! But where did they come from and why do we have them?

In England and Wales, there are typically eight bank holidays every year, while in Scotland there are nine and in Northern Ireland there are 10.

However, people across the different nations will be getting an extra bank holiday this year. It's all because of the Queen's Jubilee, which marks 70 years since she first became the country's monarch.

Want to know more about bank holidays? Find out more about below.

Bank holidays were first introduced by a man named Sir John Lubbock who was a scientific writer, banker and politician, and the first Baron of Avebury. (He is also reported to have studied ants and tried to teach his poodle how to read!)

In 1871, he drafted the Bank Holiday Bill. When it became law, he created the first official bank holidays.

Initially, it was just banks and financial buildings that would close, which is where the name comes from.

But as time went on, businesses, shops, schools and the government all joined in.

Did you know...?

People don't have to take off a bank holiday if they don't want to - it all depends on their job contract.

Royals can also add extra bank holidays if they want to.

For example, the millennium bank holiday on 31 December 1999 and the Golden Jubilee bank holiday on Monday 3 June 2002 were extra special days when many adults got an extra day off work.

In 2022 we have an extra bank holiday around the UK on Friday 3 June, to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee - 70 years on the throne.

Also the spring bank holiday that usually comes at the end of May is being moved to Thursday 2 June to give everyone four days off to mark the occasion (2-6 June).

Some people - including some business groups - say they want the extra Jubilee bank holiday to stay each year form now on - but the government hasn't said anything about that yet.

Here is a full list of all of the annual bank holidays that take place across the UK:

• New Year's Day (UK)
• 2 January (Scotland only)
• St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland only)
• Good Friday (UK)
• Easter Monday (England and Wales and Northern Ireland)
• Early May Bank Holiday (UK)
• Spring Bank Holiday (UK)
• Platinum Jubilee Bank holiday (UK)
• Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland only)
• First Monday in August (Scotland only)
• Last Monday in August (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• St. Andrew's Day (Scotland only)
• Christmas Day (UK)
• Boxing Day (UK)