Views: 0
Shops across Britain have announced that they will close on Monday September 19 in a show of respect for Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral.
Supermarkets including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, as well as department stores John Lewis and Harrods, confirmed closure plans on Monday, one week before the Queen’s state funeral takes place.
September 19, which has been confirmed as a bank holiday, will also see shops such as Aldi, Primark and WH Smith shut their doors to the public.
Retailers are not required to close down on the day of the funeral but many have chosen to do so as a mark of respect, while others may choose to open for reduced hours, as many regularly do on bank holidays.
Other aspects of daily life will remain accessible, however, such as pubs, with Fullers Group – which has 400 pubs across the country – announcing that it expects all its pubs to remain open on Monday.
“We anticipate that Fullers pubs will be opening on the day of the funeral to provide a place for people to come together and pay their respects,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s said it would shut its main supermarkets and Argos shops on the day of the funeral, but added that it wouldu keep convenience shops and petrol filling stations open from 5pm-10pm to allow customers to pick up “essential items”.
A spokeswoman for the retailers said the decision was “in honour of Her Majesty and so our colleagues can pay their respects”.
Clothing giant Primark confirmed it will shut all 191 high street stores next Monday, saying: “Our stores, depots and head office in the UK will be closed on Monday September 19 to give our colleagues the opportunity to pay their respects and watch the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“We will reopen as normal on Tuesday September 20.”
John Lewis also confirmed that it will shut all its stores as a mark of respect.
Parent business The John Lewis Partnership said it will shut John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets all day for the funeral.
‘We believe it is the right thing to do’
Andrew Murphy, the chief operating officer of The John Lewis Partnership, said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
“We will be closing our stores on the day of her funeral as a mark of respect, and because we believe this is the right thing to do for our partners and customers.”
It added that there may be “a very limited number of Waitrose stores” near to the route of the funeral procession which remain open to serve members of the public nearby.
However, it stressed that these shops would be closed during the funeral itself.
Government guidance on whether retailers should close their doors next Monday states: “Some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral, however, this is at the discretion of individual businesses.”