Asda and Odeon cinemas are the latest businesses to say they will be shut in the UK on Monday 19 September, as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral. The supermarket chain Asda will close all of its stores on the day until 17:00.
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.
Asda has joined a string of supermarkets in announcing that it will be shutting to observe the activities. Online deliveries will not be offered on the day either. Odeon cinemas in the UK will also close on the day, reopening on Tuesday, while Hollywood Bowl said it will close until 13:30 on Monday.
Meanwhile, Currys has confirmed that it will close all of its stores across the UK on the day. Other major businesses that have said they will be shut in the UK on Monday to mark the proceedings includes:
A Number UK Businesses Closing for Queen’s Funeral
> Aldi
> Argos
> B&Q
> Blue Diamond Garden Centres
> Harrods
> Holland & Barrett
> Homebase
> Ikea
> John Lewis
> Lidl
> Morrisons
> Pets at Home
> Primark
> Sainsbury’s (however, 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)
> Larger Tesco shops (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 provide for people attending the funeral)
> Waitrose (a small number of Waitrose stores along the route of the procession may remain open)
> WH Smith high street stores (the company’s travel stores will be closed at least for the duration of the funeral)
> Wilko
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 leisure group Better said all of its leisure centres, libraries, venues and spas will be closed too.
However, many non-retail businesses are expected to remain open on the day. Fullers Group – which has over 400 pubs across the country – said that it anticipated its pubs to be open on Monday.
A spokesperson told the BBC: “Pubs are an integral part of the community and we expect the majority of our pubs to be open to join with their communities and celebrate the life of an amazing and inspirational leader.”
Butlin’s holiday resort also said that it is staying open on Monday, with some changes to arrival times.
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.