Morrisons: has supermarket turned off checkout beeps because of Queen’s death - rumour explained

Queen Elizabeth II passed away at her private residence in Balmoral on Thursday 8 September.

The Queen reigned for a record breaking 70 years on the throne - the longest of any British monarch in history and a number of businesses and brands have paid their tributes to the late monarch ahead of her funeral on Monday 19 September.

Reports in the UK began to circulate that supermarket chain Morrisons had turned off the beeps on its checkouts - but are the rumours true?

Have Morrisons turned off checkout beeps because of Queen’s death?

Morrisons have played down the reports that they have turned off the beeps on its checkouts to pay respect to the Queen.

A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said: “Our checkout beeps are not off.

“They have just been turned down as our music and tannoy announcements have been switched off in stores.”

The supermarket chain decided to create a quieter in-store environment as a tribute to the late monarch.

Following the Queen’s death, Morrisons issued the following statement on twitter: “We are deeply saddened by the news that Her Majesty The Queen has passed away and would like to send our sincere condolences to The Royal Family.

“Her Majesty The Queen lived a life of extraordinary public service and we share the nation’s gratitude at this very difficult time.”

Where did the rumour come from?

The rumour emerged on Twitter from a disgruntled customer who was shopping at Morrisons.

She explained that there were increased waiting times and queues at the supermarket as customers were struggling to scan their items.

Will Morrisons be open on the day of the Queen’s funeral?

King Charles III announced a national bank holiday for his mothers state funeral on Monday 19 September.

Morrisons is just one of a number of supermarkets that have confirmed store closures for the Queen’s funeral.

In a statement on twitter, a spokerson for Morrisons said: “All our supermarkets will be closed on Monday 19 September as a mark of respect and so colleagues can pay tribute to Her Majesty.

“At 5pm our petrol filling stations will reopen.”

Which supermarkets will close for the Queen’s funeral?

A number of leading supermarkets will join Morrisons in shutting their doors for the late monarch’s funeral. These include Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose, Lidl, Asda, Iceland and Tesco.

Sainsbury’s has confirmed that it plans to shut 600 supermarkets across the UK for the day apart from smaller convenience stores.

Its petrol station locations will operate at reduced hours of 5pm to 10pm.

Asda has announced that it will close all its stores from midnight on Sunday and will reopen its stores at 5pm when the funeral service has finished.

Asda announced that the staff contracted to work while the stores are closed will be paid as normal whereas any staff working during the funeral service will receive double time for the hours that they work.