What time are shops open on coronation day? Tesco, Asda and Lidl opening hours for Saturday and bank holiday

King Charles will be crowned this Saturday in a lavish ceremony held at Westminster Abbey.

Beyond the coronation itself there will be plenty for royal watchers to enjoy, from an RAF flypast to a star-studded concert.

Regardless of your enthusiasm for the occasion, having an additional bank holiday will hopefully give cause for celebration – but what time are shops open over the long weekend?

What time are shops open on coronation day?

The following supermarkets are all operating normal Saturday and Sunday hours this weekend, despite the coronation celebrations:

• Aldi
• Asda
• Co-op
• Lidl
• Morrisons
• Sainsbury’s
• Tesco
• Waitrose

However, most stores will have slightly different opening times for the coronation bank holiday on Monday 8 May:

• Aldi: Closing at 8pm in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 10pm in Scotland – you can find your local branch here.
• Asda: Open 7am-8pm – you can find your local branch here.
• Co-op: Not confirmed, but you find details for your local branch here.
• Lidl: Operating normal hours – you can find your local branch here.
• Morrisons: Open 7am-10pm – you can find your local branch here.
• Sainsbury’s: Open 7am-10pm – you can find your local branch here.
• Tesco: Open 8am-8pm – you can your local branch here.
• Waitrose: Open 8am-6am, with Little Waitrose stores open 7am-10pm – you can find your local branch here.

What’s happening on coronation day?

Here is the full timetable of events for the day of the coronation:

• 6am – viewing areas open along the procession route
• 7.15-8.30am – guests to Westminster Abbey begin to arrive at security checkpoints in Victoria Tower Gardens
• 9am – congregation to be seated inside the Abbey
• 9.30-10.45am – heads of state, overseas government representatives, Government ministers, First Ministers, former PMs, foreign royals and members of the Royal Family arrive
• 9.45am – the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry begin to gather ready for the procession from Buckingham Palace
• 10.20am – the King and Queen’s procession sets off from the Palace
• 10.53am – the King and Queen arrive at Westminster Abbey
• 11am – Charles and Camilla enter the Abbey through the Great West Door and the service begins
• 12pm – the King is crowned. The Archbishop of Canterbury places the St Edward’s Crown on Charles’s head. Trumpets will sound and gun salutes will be fired across the UK.
• 1pm – the service ends following the crowning of Camilla, and the King and Queen begin their coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach
• 1.33pm – Charles and Camilla are expected to enter Buckingham Palace through the Centre Arch
• 1.45pm – the King and Queen receive a royal salute from the military in the palace gardens
• Around 2.15pm – the King, Queen and members of the Royal Family appear on the Palace balcony to watch the flypast

When is the next bank holiday?

The Government confirmed in November that the whole of the UK would get a bank holiday to celebrate the crowning of Charles III on Monday 8 May.

This is the second of three long weekends this month, following the May Day bank holiday on Monday 1 May.

The UK’s final day off falls on Monday 29 May for the spring bank holiday, which generally falls on the final Monday of the month.

The coronation of King Charles III

Here’s a full timetable of the coronation, including when Charles will actually be crowned, and details of the concert.

The ceremony has taken an astonishing amount of preparation, with Operation Golden Orb – decades in the planning – bringing in snipers and police officers from across the country to aid security. The coronation will also feature the biggest military procession in 70 years, no small feat of logistics, but still intends to be the most sustainable ever.

But the event has not been without controversy. The option for the public to pledge allegiance to the new monarch sparked resistance, including from i‘s own Stefano Hatfield, and the new King’s relationship with his second son will be under fierce scrutiny, with Jennie Bond blaming his emotional illiteracy for the breakdown of their relationship.

This week, The i Podcast looks at whether King Charles III could be the last monarch of a Commonwealth realm which was born from the British Empire and funded by the proceeds of slavery. Listen here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Acast | Wherever you listen