Here’s an at-a-glance guide to what will be open and closed on bank holiday Monday.
Image source, AsdaMajor shops and businesses across the UK have announced they will shut their doors as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral.
King Charles III approved a bank holiday on Monday for the state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
It is up to employers to decide whether to give staff the day off to observe the national day of mourning.
Many supermarkets and shop chains have decided to close their doors while others will limit opening hours.
Here’s an at-a-glance guide to what will be open and closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Supermarkets
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to travel to London for the state funeral so some convenience stores will stay open to give them access to food and drink.
- Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons will close all of their stores.
- Asda will close all of its stores until 17:00 BST. Online deliveries will not be offered either.
- Sainsbury’s will shut large stores. Sainsbury’s Local and petrol stations will be open from 17:00 until 22:00 BST. Some central London shops will open.
- Large Tesco shops will be shut. Tesco Express stores will open at 17:00 BST. Some stores in central London and Windsor will be open.
- Waitrose will shut all of its stores apart from a small number in London along the route of the procession.
Shops
Image source, Getty Images
Department stores Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis have announced they will close their doors, while some shopping centres will show the funeral on big screens.
Other shops that will be closed include:
- Currys
- Argos
- B&Q
- Blue Diamond Garden Centres
- Holland & Barrett
- Homebase
- Ikea
- Pets at Home
- Primark
- Wilko
Leisure
Holiday resort Center Parcs backtracked over a decision to ask guests to leave its sites on the day of the Queen’s funeral. It now says guests can stay but on-site facilities including restaurants will be shut. Butlin’s holiday resort said that it was staying open on Monday, with some changes to arrival times. Some leisure operators have decided to close their doors as a mark of respect.
- Cinema chains Odeon, Cineworld and Showcase will be closed.
- Vue Cinemas will not be showing films, but screening the funeral for free at some sites.
- Hollywood Bowl said it would close until 13:30.
- PureGym said its sites would be closed between 10:00 and 14:00.
- Better which runs gyms, libraries and other venues for local authorities said it would close all of its sites.
Pubs
Some of the UK’s largest pub chains have said they will stay open as a place for communities to come together to remember the Queen. Many will be opening early to show the 11:00 BST service and observe a two-minute silence at midday.
- Greene King said all of its pubs in central London and most of those with televisions across the country will be open throughout Monday showing Her Majesty’s funeral service.
- Fullers Group – which has over 400 pubs – told the BBC it expected the majority of its pubs to be open “to join with their communities and celebrate the life of an amazing and inspirational leader”.
- JW Lees said pubs were “hubs of their communities” and its 44 pubs will stay open.
Other aspects of daily life will also be put on hold on the day of the state funeral.
Royal Mail has announced that its postal services will be suspended. Some of the UK’s biggest strikes by postal workers and rail staff have also been put on hold.
Some funerals that were scheduled for Monday have been postponed, sometimes at the request of the bereaved families and sometimes because cemeteries and crematoria are closing for the day.
The government advises on its website that the additional bank holiday “will allow individuals, businesses and other organisations to pay their respects to Her Majesty and commemorate Her reign, while marking the final day of the period of national mourning”.
Although it says that some businesses “may wish to consider closing or postponing events”, there is no statutory entitlement to time off for workers.