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As Britain and the world are laying Queen Elizabeth II to rest on Monday at a state funeral that has managed to draw presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers and also up to a million people lining the streets of London to say a final goodbye to the monarch, the day has been made a national bank holiday.
According to AP report, Monday has been declared a public holiday in honor of Queen Elizabeth, who died September 8 at 96. The service, in the Gothic medieval abbey where Elizabeth was married in 1947 and crowned in 1953, will be attended by 2,000 people ranging from world leaders to health care workers and volunteers, the report said.
According to the Mirror report, supermarket chains can vary on bank holidays for opening times, but some have announced they are closing their doors during the Queen's funeral. While large Tesco supermarkets will close all day, and smaller Express stores will shut until 5pm, but convenience stores and petrol stations will open 5pm to 10pm, the report said.
Notably, more than 2,000 Costa Coffee shops cafes will be closed during the bank holiday, with some minor exceptions, while McDonald's has confirmed that all its restaurants will be closed on Monday, September 19, until 5pm, “to allow everyone at McDonald’s to pay their respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," the Mirror report said.
Meanwhile retailers such as the Homebase, Next, B&Q, Primark, Argos, Poundland and John Lewis have all said they will be shutting on the day of the late monarch's funeral and all of WH Smith's high street branches will be shut for the day, but the firm's smaller Travel stores will close for at least the funeral itself, the Mirror report said.
British Cycling said no domestic events should take place on the day, noting "British Cycling strongly recommends that anybody out riding their bike on the day of the state funeral does so outside of the timings of the funeral service and associated processions," as per the report.
While the Gym Group and JD Gyms will be closed between 10am and 2pm, and Virgin Active will close all of their central London sites but their other venues around the country will open from 2pm to 8pm. Independent gyms will have their own opening policies, but most will be respecting the two-minute silence at the end of the funeral service at 11.55am, the Mirror reported.
The Mirror report said that many cinemas will be shut during the Queen's funeral, while cinema chains including Vue, Curzon, Reel Cinemas, Savoy, Arc and Picturedrome will screen the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II for free on Monday, September 19. It is important to note that the UK will be shut to tourists as English Heritage has confirmed that heritage sites across the UK, including Stone Henge and HMS Belfast, will be shut for visitors, while popular holiday destination Centre Parcs initially confirmed it would close all five of its sites across the UK on the bank holiday, the report said.
(With inputs from AP, Mirror)