Bank holiday announced for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral on Monday, September 19

The day of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will mark the final day of the period of national mourning.

King Charles III announced that the Queen’s funeral, which will take place on Monday 19 September, would be a Bank Holiday.

This bank holiday will operate in the same way as other bank holidays, and there is no statutory entitlement to time off.

The bank holiday will take place across the United Kingdom.

It is being reported on national media that supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, will close between 10am and 2pm on the day to allow staff to watch the funeral on TV, although this is yet to be confirmed.

John Lewis has confirmed that all of its department stores will close next Monday and the vast majority of Waitrose supermarkets will also close, although a limited number of branches on the route of the funeral procession may stay open to serve those that attend.

John Lewis Partnership chief operating officer Andrew Murphy said: “We are 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.”

Royal Mail has said that it will suspend postal services on the day of the funeral.

Government guidance says: "The government cannot interfere in existing contractual arrangements between employers and workers. However, we would expect that many workers will be able to take the day off on the bank holiday. We also expect employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take the day of the funeral off work."