Brits mourning the passing of their beloved Queen are looking forward to a Bank Holiday to mark her funeral.
Queen Elizabeth II died "peacefully" on Thursday afternoon (September 8) at the age of 96 at her Balmoral Castle residency in Aberdeenshire.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement at 6.30pm, stating: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
The UK is currently in the midst of 12 days of mourning ahead of the Queen's state funeral, which will take place on Monday, September 19 and has been declared as a Bank Holiday.
When is the Bank Holiday for the Queen's funeral?
The Queen's state funeral will take place at 11am on Monday, September 19 at Westminster Abbey.
Monday September, 19, will be a national bank holiday.
The Government says this will allow people, businesses, and other organisations to pay their respects to Her Majesty while marking the final day of the period of national mourning.
This bank holiday will work in the same way as other bank holidays, and workers have no statutory entitlement to time off for it, as employers may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.
The bank holiday will take place across the United Kingdom.
On the gov.uk website, the Government states: "The bank holiday will be a unique national moment, and we would encourage employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take time off."
It has been confirmed that schools will be closed for the funeral, while it will be down to the "discretion of individual businesses", according to Government guidance, whether shops will be open, have reduced hours or will be closed to mark their respects for the late monarch.
What will happen on the day of the state funeral?
Her Majesty will lie in state in Westminster Hall where visitors can pay their respects by joining 24-hour lines from Wednesday at 5pm until 6.30am on Monday September 19.
At 10.44am on the day of the funeral, the coffin will be conveyed to the abbey on a gun carriage pulled along by soldiers using ropes in a procession - where thousands will line the streets - from the Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral.
After the coffin arrives at Westminster Hall, the Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service assisted by the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster.
The royal family, world leaders, politicians and the Queen's friends will attend the historic event. Two minutes of silence will be held across the UK at midday.
The Queen’s coffin will then be taken to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for a televised committal service.
Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.
where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.
The Queen will be buried in the King George VI memorial chapel, where she will be reunited with Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years, and where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.
Will people have to go to work if its a Bank Holiday?
New government guidance has confirmed that each employer needs to make their own decision on whether or not they will give staff the day off.
A post on gov.uk reads: “This is a matter for discussion between individuals and their employer.
"There is no statutory entitlement to time off for bank holidays, but employers may include bank holidays as part of a worker’s leave entitlement.
"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.”
The guidance also says staff should speak with their bosses over if they will get a day’s holiday in lieu if they do work the funeral date.
