Which Shops Will Be Open And Which Will Be Closed On The Day Of The Queen's Funeral?

The Queen's funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey in central London on Monday 19 September, which has been designated a bank holiday.

The government has said that, during the national mourning period, there is "no obligation to suspend business".

It added that some businesses "may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral", but added that this would be "at the discretion of individual businesses".

So let's take a look at some of the UK's big businesses and find out what their plans are.

Supermarkets and department stores

The John Lewis Partnership will close its department stores and Waitrose shops on the day of the funeral. Chief operating officer Andrew Murphy said the decision was made "as a mark of respect, and because we believe this is the right thing to do for our partners and customers".

An exception might be made for a "very limited number" of Waitrose stores on the route of the funeral procession to serve members of the public who will be lining it for many hours, but even these shops will close for the funeral itself.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said Sainsbury's and Argos stores will be closed "in honour of Her Majesty and so our colleagues can pay their respects".

The closures include groceries online and Argos fast-track delivery. Convenience stores and petrol filling stations will be open from 5pm until 10pm, while select stores in central London will open to serve those attending the funeral in person.

Aldi stores will close for the day.

Lidl stores will also be closed.

Tesco UK Chief Executive Jason Tarry said all of Tesco's large stores would close for the day and Express stores will be closed until 5pm, adding:

"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."

Sky News has also asked Morrisons, M&S, Iceland and Asda for their plans.

Shopping centres

Overgate Shopping Centre in Dundee said it would be open as normal, but individual retailers inside the shopping centre will choose whether they open or close their shops.

A spokesman for Landsec said its shopping centres would be observing bank holiday opening times but added: "Some of our brand partners may be closed or operating at different times than usual so we ask that guests please double check with them directly before travelling."

Landsec's retail spaces include Trinity Leeds, Bluewater in Kent, White Rose Centre in Leeds, Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, St David's Dewi Sant in Cardiff, Junction 32 in Yorkshire, Braintree Village in Essex, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow, Lewisham Shopping Centre, West 12 Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush and others.

Westfield London and Westfield Stratford are likely to remain open, although a spokesperson said a number of stores within them would close for the day.

Manchester's Trafford Centre said its plans had not been finalised but any updates would be published on its website.

Hammerson's shopping centres will be open next Monday and a number of them are expected to show the funeral on screens, a spokesperson said. Hammerson's shopping centres include the Bullring and Grand Central in Birmingham, London's Brent Cross, Highcross in Leicester, Bristol's Cabot Circus, and Croydon's Centrale & Whitgift.

Sky News has also asked St James Quarter in Edinburgh, British Land (owners of shopping centres including Meadowhall), Eldon Square in Newcastle, Braehead in Scotland, Victoria Square in Belfast, Metrocentre in Gateshead for their plans.

Retailers

A Primark spokesperson said all of its stores, depots and head office in the UK would be close on 19 September "to give our colleagues the opportunity to pay their respects and watch the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II". They will reopen as normal from Tuesday, 20 September.

Apple stores across the UK will reportedly close for the day.

Lakeland will be closing all of its operations, including its stores, for the day.

All WH Smith High Street stores will be closed for the whole day next Monday. All UK WH Smith Travel stores will be closed for at least the duration of the funeral, a spokesman said.

Halfords said its stores, garages, and support centre will be closed, and Halfords Mobile Experts will not be operating on 19 September "to allow our colleagues to join in the Day of National Mourning". A spokesperson said that any customers who have booked appointments in stores, Autocentres or with National Tyres will be contacted to re-schedule.

All Next stores will be closed for the day.

Zara stores will also be closed.

Sky News has also asked Boots, H&M, Waterstones, Joules, Clarks, Card Factory and TK Maxx for their plans.

Post

Royal Mail has said its services will be suspended on the day of the funeral, but the picture is a little more complicated at the Post Office.

The Post Office has 11,500 branches but only 114 of them are directly managed by the Post Office - those 114 will be closed for the day.

Around 2,500 branches are run by the likes of WH Smith, Tesco, Co-Op, Spar, and these businesses will decide on their plans, although a Post Office spokesperson said it was "likely" most of these branches would also be closed.

They added:

"The rest of our network of branches are operated by independent postmasters and typically are located in convenience stores. It will be the postmaster's decision whether to open on the day.

"On weekends, we usually have around 4,000 branches open and would normally expect a similar number to be open on a regular bank holiday.

"However, it may be that some independent postmasters, who would normally open their branch on a bank holiday, decide to close their branch on 19 September to mark the passing of Her Majesty."

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the day of the Queen's funeral would operate in the same way as other bank holidays.

There will be no statutory entitlement to time off, although employers can include it as part of a worker's leave entitlement and employers are encouraged to "respond sensitively to request from workers who wish to take time off".

(c) Sky News 2022: Which shops will be open and which will be closed on the day of the Queen's funeral?