Is the day of the Queen’s funeral a bank holiday? Do workers get a day off for Elizabeth II’s state funeral

The nation is mourning the passing of our longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, while also welcoming in the new King Charles III.

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle, at the age of 96, on Thursday 8 September - just two days after she invited Liz Truss to form a new government.

The Queen’s death has led many to question what will happen now the Queen has died as, due to her historic 70 year reign, most people in the UK have never witnessed the death of a monarch and appointment of a new one previously.

Among the questions being asked are what will happen at the late Queen’s state funeral, which will take place on Monday 19 September, and will there be a UK bank holiday to mark the event?

Here’s what you need to know.

What will happen at Queen’s funeral?

Following the Queen’s death, a 10-day operation of formalities has begun.

Known as Operation Unicorn because she has died in Scotland - unicorns being Scotland’s national animal - it will see the Queen’s body transported to Edinburgh.

Precise details are not yet known about how the following days will pan out, but it will see the Queen’s body rest at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Her coffin will then be taken to St Giles’ Cathedral in the Scottish capital.

From there, it is expected she will be placed on the Royal train at Waverley station and transported down to London.

If, for some reason, this is not possible, Operation Overstudy would see the Queen’s coffin transported south via aircraft where it would be met by the Prime Minister and senior officials.

The monarch’s funeral will take place on, or around, the tenth day after her death. Buckingham Palace announced at around 5pm on Saturday 10 September that the funeral would take place on Monday 19 September. It is expected to start at 11am at Westminster Abbey.

This date is 11 days after Her Majesty’s death - and the one day delay is likley to have been caused by the fact the Queen’s death was not announced until the evening of Thursday 8 September.

In the interim, she will have laid in state for four days at the Palace of Westminster so that the general public can gather to pay their respects.

Heads of state and other key foreign dignitaries will fly into the UK for the funeral.

National security will be in a high state of alert for a possible terror attack.

It is expected hundreds of thousands of people could travel to London, with a government memo seen by the Politico news website warning London could literally become “full”.

The state funeral itself will take place at Westminster Abbey, and would be likely to involve the entire Royal Family.

While no official timings are known, two minutes of silence will take place across the UK at midday on Monday 19 September.

Afterwards, processions will take place in London and then at Windsor, where the Queen will be interred after a committal service at Windsor Castle’s King George VI Memorial Chapel.

Will there be a bank holiday for Queen’s funeral?

A national day of mourning will be held on the day of the Queen’s funeral.

At the Accession Council on 10 September, as Charles III was proclaimed King, Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the Council, confirmed there will be a bank holiday on the day of the funeral, on Monday 19 September.

While there will only be subtle differences compared to a regular bank holiday, it will not be labelled as being one.

However, the government is understood to not be planning to order employers to give their staff a day off.