What is open and closed on bank holiday for Queen’s funeral? Latest on pubs, shops, supermarkets and more

The nation will gather to mourn the Queen during her state funeral.

Elizabeth II will be laid to rest after a service at Westminster Abbey in London today (19 September).

King Charles III approved plans for the day to be declared a new bank holiday at his accession last weekend.

Millions of people will have the day off work or school on the day of the Queen’s funeral.

But you might be confused about what exactly wil be open or closed on 19 September.

Here’s all you need to know:

Schools

Schools and colleges across the United Kingdom will be closed on Monday 19 September.

Stock market

The London Stock Exchange will be closed on the day of the funeral.

No trading will be able to be carried out on the stock market on Monday 19 September.

Supermarkets

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi were among those closing their supermarket stores for the day.

“We want to express our deepest condolences to the royal family, as well as our gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen for her unwavering service,” said Tesco’s UK chief executive Jason Tarry.

The UK’s biggest grocery business said it will open its Express convenience stores from 5pm, while a small number of convenience stores in central London and Windsor will remain open.

Other retailers including Sainsbury’s also said convenience stores and petrol stations will open from 5pm.

Asda said it will shut its stores for the funeral, but all its supermarkets will open from 5pm, with colleagues working on Monday evening to receive double pay.

Waitrose stores will be shut on Monday, Lidl will be shut as well, Spar stores will be closed until 5pm and Co-op stores will also be closed until 5pm.

Aldi will be closed as will Iceland.

Petrol Stations

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons announced that they will be closing their forecourts, however some will reopen after 5pm.

Sainsbury’s will reopen petrol stations at 5pm, the RAC has said.

High Street shops

High Street retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Primark, also said they will shut for the day.

Argos will be shut on Monday.

John Lewis’ department stores will be shut on Monday, WHSmith’s high street branches will be shut.

Apple will close its stores.

Joe Browns has announced that they will close their stores, head office and warehouse

Pubs

A number of pub groups have said they will have venues open during the day.

Pub group Stonegate said it will open on Monday and plans to show the Queen’s funeral on screens.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread also said it will keep its hotels and restaurants open as usual.

JD Wetherspoon said central London, railway station and airport pubs will open from 8am on Monday, while the majority of its pubs will only open from about 1pm, after the funeral takes place.

Greene King will be keeping the majority of its pubs open and will be showing the funeral on TV.

Cinemas

Cinema chains such as Cineworld and Odeon have also announced plans to keep their venues shut.

DIY

B&Q will be closing all its stores on Monday (19 September).

Homebase will be shut all day, IKEA will close all its UK stores, Dunelm will be closed as well.

Food and drink

Costa Coffee will be closing all of its “wholly owned” stores, but Costa Express machines inside retailers who remain open will remain operational.

McDonald’s will be shut on Monday out of respect to the Queen.

The fast-food giant, which has 1,300 sites across the UK, said outlets will be allowed to reopen at 5pm.

In a statement on Twitter, McDonald’s said: “In honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II and to enable everyone at McDonald’s to pay their respects, our restaurants across the UK will be closed from midnight until 5pm on Monday 19th September.”

Deliveries will also not be available until after 5pm, the company has said.

Greggs has confirmed that it will be closing all its stores in the UK to pay their respects to the Queen. In a statement on Twitter the company said: “To give our colleagues the opportunity to pay their respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Greggs shops will be closed on Monday 19th September.

“A small number of our shops, operated by our franchised partners, may remain open. Thank you for understanding.”

Domino’s Pizza will be closed until the funeral service has finished.

Burger King will be remaining open.

Pizza Hut will be open but only from 2pm as a mark of respect.

Work places

It will be up to your employer to decide if they will open on the bank holiday or not.

The government guidance states: “This is a matter for discussion between individuals and their employer. There is no statutory entitlement to time off for bank holidays, but employers may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.

“The government cannot interfere in existing contractual arrangements between employers and workers.

“However, we would expect that many workers will be able to take the day off on the bank holiday.

“We also expect employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the day of the funeral will operate as “a standard bank holiday”.

“Obviously individual businesses will need to make the decisions about what’s right for them and discuss with their employees but there is obviously no one-size-fits-all approach.”

Why is 19 September a bank holiday?

King Charles III approved plans for the date of the Queen’s funeral to be a new bank holiday.

He gave the nod during his Accession Council, in which he was officially proclaimed the next monarch.

The government said in a statement: “Monday 19 September, the date of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral, will be a national bank holiday.

“This 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.

“This bank holiday will operate in the same way as other bank holidays, and there is no statutory entitlement to time off. Employers may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.

“The bank holiday will take place across the United Kingdom.”

Will it be a bank holiday every year?

There are currently no plans for an annual holiday, the government has said.

King George VI’s funeral was not a bank holiday,

No decision has yet been made about whether King Charles III’s coronation will also be a bank holiday.

A decision will be made nearer the time.

No timeline for the coronation of Charles III has been announced so far, but for reference Elizabeth II’s accession happened in 1952 but her coronation took place in 1953.