Stores including John Lewis, Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl have said they will be shut in the UK on Monday 19 September, as a sign of respect to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral. A bank holiday across the UK was approved by King Charles III for the day of his mother’s funeral. The Queen, Britain’s longest-ever reigning monarch, died on Thursday at her Scottish estate in Balmoral. Luxury department store Harrods will be closed too.
Homebase, WH Smith, B&Q, Primark, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Argos, Ikea and Blue Diamond Garden Centres have all also said that they will close stores on the day. All John Lewis department stores and Waitrose shops will be shut on the day of the funeral, although a small number of Waitrose stores along the route of the procession may remain open. Andrew Murphy, chief operating officer at the John Lewis Partnership, said the move was a “mark of respect, and because we believe this is the right thing to do for our partners and customers”.
Sainsbury’s said online grocery deliveries, as well as fast-track deliveries from its Argos subsidiary, would also be halted. Sainsbury’s convenience stores and petrol filling stations will be open from 17:00 until 22:00 while select stores in central London will open to serve people attending the funeral. A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said its decision was “in honour of Her Majesty and so our colleagues can pay their respects”. Larger Tesco shops will also be closed on the day. The company’s smaller Express shops will open at 17:00, but a small number of stores in central London and Windsor will remain open throughout the day “to help those attending the funeral”. A spokesperson for supermarket Aldi said the company’s decision would allow staff to pay tribute to the Queen.
A spokesperson for fashion retailer Primark said: “Our stores, depots and Head Office in the UK will be closed… to give our colleagues the opportunity to pay their respects and watch the funeral… We will reopen as normal on Tuesday 20 September.” An Ikea UK spokesperson said: “Out of respect, and to enable our co-workers to participate in the funeral, Ikea UK will pause its business operations, including closing all of our UK stores on Monday 19 September.” All WH Smith’s High Street stores will be closed for the whole day, while its travel stores will be closed at least for the duration of the funeral.
Homebase said: “We join the country in mourning the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II and will be closing our stores on the day of her funeral.” It added that the decision had been made “so our team members can choose to mark her incredible life of service”. B&Q said it would close all its UK stores “as a mark of respect” on the day. It said the decision would also offer its staff “the opportunity to pay their respects”. Click and collect and home delivery services will also be temporarily suspended on the day, B&Q added.
The UK’s second-biggest garden centre chain, Blue Diamond Garden Centres, tweeted: “Following the recent announcement of the state funeral… as a mark of respect, we have taken the decision to close all of our garden centres and restaurants on this day.” It added that it would “reopen as normal” on the following day.
Harrods had said last Friday that it would close. In a tweet, the department store said: “We will continue to commemorate the life of HM the Queen and pay our respects by closing the store on the day of the state funeral.” It is expected other retailers will follow suit, either by closing altogether or by reducing operating hours. Other aspects of daily life will also be put on hold for the date of the state funeral, with businesses and organisations choosing to close or halt their operations.
The Royal Mail has announced that its postal services will be suspended on the day, while Better also said all of its leisure centres, libraries, venues and spas will be closed too. However, Fullers Group – which has over 400 pubs across the country – said that it expected its pubs to be open on Monday. A spokesperson told the BBC: “We anticipate that Fuller’s pubs will be opening on the day of the funeral to provide a place for people to come together and pay their respects.”
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.
