Monday 19th September: Which Businesses Are Open and Closed?

Words WOTC Magazine

Major shops and businesses across the UK have shut their doors as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral. King Charles III approved a bank holiday on Monday for the state funeral at Westminster Abbey, however it has been left up to employers as to whether they decide to give their staff the day off to observe the national day of mourning.

Many supermarkets and store chains decided to close their doors, while others have limited opening hours. Here's your guide on what is open and closed today.

Supermarkets and convenience stores

As more than a million people have travelled to London for the state funeral, some convenience stores are staying open to give them access to food and drink.

Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons have closed all of their stores whilst Asda stores are closed until 17:00 BST, Sainsbury's Local and petrol stations will be open from 17:00 until 22:00 BST and Tesco Express stores will open at 17:00 BST. Sainsbury's and Tesco have shut large stores, whilst Waitrose has shut all of its stores apart from a small number in London along the route of the procession.

Shops

Department stores Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis and House of Fraser have shut their doors, while some shopping centres are showing the funeral on big screens. Other shops that are closed include Apple, Homebase and Primark.

Leisure

Cinema chains Odeon, Cineworld and Showcase are closed. Vue Cinemas are not showing films, but screening the funeral for free at some sites. PureGym has said its sites would be closed between 10:00 and 14:00. Other gyms, libraries and other venues for local authorities said it would close all of its sites.

Pubs

Some of the UK's largest pub and restaurant chains have said they will stay open as a place for communities to come together to remember the Queen. Many will be opening early to show the 11:00 BST service and observe a two-minute silence at midday.

Restaurants and takeaways

McDonalds said its 1,300 UK restaurants would be closed from midnight until 17:00 and there would be no food deliveries during this time. Dominos Pizza will reopen at 12:00 and Pizza Express will open at 15:00. Greggs shops are closed, although the company said a small number of shops operated by its franchise partners may remain open. Other aspects of daily life have also been put on hold on the day of the state funeral.

Post offices are closed after Royal Mail announced its services would be suspended.

Major London train stations will be open and hundreds of extra train services have been scheduled with some running through the night.

Some pharmacies such as Boots are shut during the hours of the funeral, while Lloyds and Well Pharmacy stores will be shut all day.

The government has advised 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.