Lidl joins Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Primark to shut shops for Queen’s funeral
Top supermarkets and retailers including Lidl, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are set to shut their UK stores on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Major retailers B&Q and Primark will also close shops for the bank holiday to mark the Queen’s state-funeral next Monday.
Some supermarkets are also working on plans to cut some of their stores’ opening hours for the national bank holiday to let staff take part in commemorating the Queen.
The UK government last week confirmed there will be a bank holiday on Monday 19th September for the Queen’s funeral.
Waitrose said it plans to close nearly all of its UK stores, apart from a select few shops on the funeral procession route to serve those watching.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said all of the firm’s supermarkets and Argos stores are set to close on Monday, alongside associated delivery services.
Sainsbury’s convenience stores and petrol stations will open from 5pm-10pm, while select stores in central London will remain open to serve those attending the funeral.
A spokesperson for Primark said the retailer is set to close all of its 191 stores on the bank holiday “to give our colleagues the opportunity to pay their respects.”
B&Q also said it will close all of its UK shops and suspend its home delivery service on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Poundland confirmed it will close all 770 of its British stores as it said all staff scheduled to work on Monday will be paid their hours in full.
Tesco said its large stores will be closed for the entire day whilst its convenience will remain shut until 5pm.
Major supermarkets including Aldi, Asda, and Morrisons will also close stores across the UK, according to reports.
Lidl was the latest to announce it’s closing stores, writing on Twitter: “In honour of Her Majesty and to allow our colleagues to pay their respects, we will be closing all of our stores across England, Scotland and Wales on the day of Her Majesty’s funeral. Thank you to everyone for your understanding.”