More than 120,000 people have signed a petition calling for an annual bank holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne.
King Charles III confirmed over the weekend that the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral will be a public holiday.
And people now want a bank holiday every year on September 8, the date Queen Elizabeth II died, to mark the former monarch’s life of service
The creator of the petition on change.org, John Harris wrote: “Queen Elizabeth II is our longest reigning monarch, and arguably the Nations, and the World's most popular ever Monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II
POOL
The petition has passed over 120,000
Change.org
“In the words of President Macron, 'to you, she was your Queen, to us, she was THE Queen…The most constant symbol of Great Britain'.
“She was indeed, an inspirational woman.”
He added: “I believe we need a new public bank holiday to mark our greatest Sovereign's lifetime; a Queen Elizabeth Day.
“A day for our Nation to come together and celebrate both the life of the Queen, and our gratitude for the institution of our Royal Family.”
While a whole host of supermarkets and shops have already announced they will close for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Aldi and Lidl have already announced plans to close on Monday September 19 as the country pays tribute to the former monarch.
While McDonald’s is among the shops that has said it will shut its UK restaurants as a mark of respect.
The fast-food giant, which has 1,300 sites across the UK, said outlets will be allowed to reopen at 5pm.
In a statement on Twitter, McDonald’s said: “In honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II and to enable everyone at McDonald’s to pay their respects, our restaurants across the UK will be closed from midnight until 5pm on Monday 19th September.”
Deliveries will also not be available until after 5pm, the company has said.
