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Schools set to close and postal services disrupted as UK mourns Her Majesty’s death
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The Crown of Scotland sits atop the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a Service of Prayer and Reflection for her life at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
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Crowds watch the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II by Mercat Cross on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. (Getty)
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Christopher Leebody and Emma Montgomery
September 12 2022 06:10 PM
The Queen’s funeral on Monday September 19 has been declared a Bank Holiday with daily life set to briefly pause.
However, the event has left many wondering how they will be impacted.
Schools are set to close and the bank holiday will also likely have a significant bearing on the likes shops and workplaces.
Primark: ‘Primark confirmed it will shut all its 191 high street stores on Monday September 19, which has been confirmed as a bank holiday as the Queen's state funeral takes place’. The value fashion chain said its stores will reopen for normal hours the following day.’
Sainsbury’s and Argos: "All Sainsbury’s supermarkets and Argos stores will be closed on Monday, September 19. This includes Groceries Online and Argos Fast Track delivery. Our convenience stores and petrol filling stations will be open from 5pm-10pm to allow our customers to pick up essential items, while select stores in central London will open to serve those attending the funeral in person. We thank our customers for their understanding.”
Poundland and B&Q have said they will shut their doors for the day out of respect and to allow staff to watch the event.
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Tesco has said their large stores will closed all day on Monday to allow staff to pay their respects, while Express stores will be closed until 5pm.
Online orders will also be cancelled on Monday, with customers contacted and asked to book a different slot.
M&S will cease customer delivery services and close M&S owned stores for the entire day. They added: “We will pause all customer deliveries from M&S.com and we will pause operations at our e-commerce distribution centre from 6am until the evening shift.”
It has been confirmed that schools across Northern Ireland are set to close on Monday September 19.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “It has been confirmed that the date of Her Majesty The Queen’s State Funeral will be a Bank Holiday. It is therefore expected that schools in Northern Ireland will close on 19 September.”
Post Office: We have 500 branches in Northern Ireland. There are 5 branches Directly Managed by Post Office – Bangor, Antrim, Belfast City, Londonderry and Newtownards. These will all be closed on the day of the funeral.
The other branches are either operated by retail partners – such as the SPAR Group in Northern Ireland, Tesco, WH Smith, etc or by independent Postmasters (typically located in a convenience store). It will be their decision as to whether they open on the day of the funeral.’
Royal Mail
Following the announcement that HM The Queen’s State funeral will be marked as a Bank Holiday, Royal Mail has announced that services will be suspended on Monday September 19.
According to UK Government advice around bank holidays, this impromptu holiday works like any other throughout the year. The official guidance states that there is “no statutory entitlement to time off” and instead “employers may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement”.
The Government advises whether you get the bank holiday off “is a matter for discussion between individuals and their employer”.
However, many industries will choose to close as a mark of respect on the day of the funeral.
"We would expect that many workers will be able to take the day off on the bank holiday,” a UK Government statement said.
"We also expect employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work.”
The Queen’s state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on September 19 at 11am.
On the morning of the funeral, the late Queen’s coffin will be taken in a grand military procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral, and afterwards taken by state hearse for a committal service in St George’s Chapel.
A national two minutes’ silence will take place on the eve of the funeral – at 8pm on Sunday 18 September.
While many people are likely to head to London to see the events in person, for the millions who cannot, both the state funeral and committal service will be televised.
However, the interment service at St George’s Chapel’s is private and will be attended by senior members of the royal family.
The BBC will air the funeral on BBC One, BBC News, and stream it on BBC iPlayer – however, coverage timings have yet to be confirmed by the corporation. ITV and Sky are also likely to broadcast the event with similar coverage given the significance.
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