UK will operate in slow motion this Monday. The British will be able to pay a final tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8 after 70 years of reign, during an extraordinary ceremony organized in London. While the state funeral will start at 11am sharp (12pm in Paris), the day will be marked, an hour later, by two minutes of silence across the country.
Holiday
Last week, the new King Carlos III himself had decreed that the day of the funeral would be a holiday. In fact, as Sky News summarizes, businessmen will have the last word but many shops and restaurants are already planning not to open, as well as big brands such as Sainsbury’s, Argos, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco or M&S.
The famous department store Harrod’s will also not welcome the public, as will the vast majority of shopping centers across the Channel. Other brands, although not British, such as Zara, L’Occitane or Ikea, will respect this day of tribute. Schools will remain closed.
For its part, Royal Mail, the country’s public postal operator, announced that it was suspending its services on the occasion of the funeral. As the BBC advances, some medical appointments will also be canceled or postponed this Monday. Doctor’s offices and most pharmacies will also be closed.
Interrupted air traffic
Last Wednesday there were flight delays and cancellations on the sidelines of the solemn procession to Westminster Hall that took place in central London. For this Monday, London’s Heathrow airport has announced that 15% of its traffic will be interrupted, that is, more than 150 flights, to varying degrees, during the two minutes of silence scheduled at the end of the ceremony, the funeral procession or the time of the private ceremony in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
For its part, the Exchange will also respect the royal funeral by observing a day of inactivity. “The day of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral should be a public holiday and in that case the London Stock Exchange would be closed,” the London Stock Exchange Group, the operator of the London Stock Exchange, told BFM Bourse. . On the other hand, as indicated the echoesThe London Metal Exchange will remain wide open, a decision that has drawn the ire of traders.
Funerals on almost all channels
On the media side, the day will also be very special. The country’s major media groups, led by ITV and the BBC, have planned to broadcast the commemorations live on almost all of their channels. This is also the case of the Sky group, which will broadcast the funeral both on its Sky News news channel and on specialized channels such as Sky History, Sky Nature or Sky Cinema.
According to various forecasts, including those of the newspaper The Guardianthe event could break the audience records held by England’s victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup and Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.
Source: BFM TV
