Queen Elizabeth II death: Heritage sites across UK, from National Museum of Scotland to Stonehenge, to close for Monday's funeral

Historic sites across the UK, from Stonehenge to HMS Belfast and the National Museum of Scotland, will be closed on the day of the Queen’s state funeral as a mark of respect, heritage organisations have said.

The National Trust for Scotland has said buildings and gardens will be closed while countryside places remain open on the day of the funeral.

The Imperial War Museums, which has museums in London, Manchester, Duxford, Cambridgeshire, the Churchill War Rooms in central London and HMS Belfast on the Thames, is closing all five sites.

The National Museum of Scotland will be among sites closing for the Queen's funeral on Monday. Picture: National Museums Scotland

Major galleries including the National Gallery in London, National Galleries of Scotland and the Tate galleries will also be closed, as will museums including the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and the V&A in South Kensington, London.

The National Museum of Scotland will be closed, and Museum Wales said it will close its seven sites on Monday.

English Heritage, which cares for the world famous prehistoric stone circle as well as other important monuments and properties including Dover Castle, Eltham Palace in London and Roman forts on Hadrian’s Wall, said all of its sites would be shut on Monday.

In a statement, the heritage organisation said: “As a mark of respect, English Heritage is closing all sites on Monday, September 19, 2022 for Her Majesty the Queen’s state funeral.

“The Union flag will fly at half-mast at all our sites with flagpoles until the morning after the funeral.”

National Trust houses, gardens, cafes and shops will also be closed on the day of the funeral.

The organisation said coast and countryside car parks and pre-booked holiday cottages and campsites will remain open for visitors.

The charity also said: “National Trust places will remain open during the mourning period to provide a place of reflection for members and visitors.”

The National Trust looks after hundreds of stately homes and other historic properties and gardens, as well as more than 600,000 acres of countryside and more than 780 miles of coastline, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

An Amgueddfa Cymru spokesperson said: “As one of Wales’s national institutions which holds a Royal Charter, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales will close all of its seven museums and collections centre across Wales on Monday, September 19 for the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen as a mark of respect.

“We will reopen as normal on Tuesday, September 20. Our museums will continue to be places of stability, comfort and welcome for many.”

Major retailers have already confirmed plans to shut on the day of the funeral.

Asda is the latest retailer to announce a partial closure, with a spokesman confirming all stores across Scotland will be closed until 5pm on Monday.

Waitrose and Morrisons are also set to shut on the day.

National Highways announced it had paused planned closures of motorways serving London until after the funeral, to reduce congestion.

Affected motorways include the M25, M11, M3, M4 and M23.

All other closures on England’s motorway network will be postponed during the bank holiday weekend.

National Highways also said existing roadworks would be removed “where possible”, with cones and temporary signs withdrawn from 6am on Friday until the following Tuesday.

A planned closure of the southbound M6 between junctions 33 and 32 north of Preston, Lancashire, will be among those postponed.