Following the announcement of the death of Her Majesty The Queen by Buckingham Palace, we are outlining key information for our School community.
LSE will remain open and operational during the period of national mourning, while The Queen will be lying in state in Westminster Hall, for the public to pay their respects.
On the funeral day on Monday 19 September, LSE will be closed with no access to campus for staff or students, including the Library. Halls of residence will remain open.
This means planned events, processes and activities will need to be rescheduled or cancelled. Adjustments at a departmental or divisional level should be communicated locally.
We encourage our School community to be mindful of how others may feel impacted during this time of national mourning and remain respectful of differing opinions at LSE and elsewhere.
You can see the full list of ceremonies and related information during this period on the GOV.UK website, including national mourning guidance, information for those that wish to attend ceremonial events and more.
Below you can find operational and wellbeing information to support you.
Operational information
The funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has now been confirmed for Monday 19 September, which will be observed as a public holiday.
On 19 September, LSE will be closed with no access to campus for staff or students, including the Library. Halls of residence will remain open.
HR have provided some guidance around this additional bank holiday and annual leave.
A period of silence lasting two minutes will be signalled in Westminster Abbey at around 11.55am, shortly before the Queen's coffin will be carried out on its way to her resting place at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel.
For the day of the funeral, planned events, processes and activities will need to be rescheduled or cancelled. Adjustments at a departmental or divisional level should be communicated locally.
As the day of the funeral falls on Monday 19 September, activities and processes will be rescheduled. This includes course selection timings, results release for students who sat assessment in the In-year resit and deferred Assessment Period (IRDAP), as well as events and other School activity:
-
Postgraduate course selection will open for browsing on Tuesday 20 September. Students will still be able to select courses from 10am on Thursday 22 September, which remains unchanged.
-
Undergraduate course selection will remain open throughout this period
-
Timetables for returning students will now be available from 23 September
-
Students in receipt of financial support will receive funding as scheduled.
In-year resit and deferred Assessment Period (IRDAP) results
For students who sat exams or assessments in the IRDAP, results will be released on Tuesday 20 September. We recognise that awaiting assessment results can be a worrying time for some. If students have any concerns or questions, please encourage them to reach out for advice.
Events, campus enrolment and arrivals
Any events scheduled for Monday 19 September will be rescheduled, including both departmental and wider School events. Where applicable, your Student Hub calendar will be updated throughout this week to reflect changes, and we’ll update our Welcome events webpages.
Departments should also contact students directly about changes to events that were planned to take place on 19 September. The Student Services Centre will contact departments on this matter.
Residences will continue to support arrivals in Halls and will provide support and information to residents impacted by funeral routes. Halls will remain open throughout.
If you are due to move into a hall of residence on Sunday 18 September, or another date during the period of mourning, this will go ahead as planned. Further information – including travelling to halls in this period – can be found on the Halls Life webpages.
Central London is expected to be busy with people travelling to see The Queen lying-in-state. Staff should speak to line managers about working remotely if this is possible or flexibility in travelling if you need to be on campus. Decisions on campus or remote working will be at the discretion of local areas based on School need.
- You can see the full list of ceremonies and related information during this period on the GOV.UK website, including national mourning guidance, information for those that wish to attend ceremonial events and more.
- Watch this live video for updates showing the end point of the queue to attend The Queen’s lying-in-state.
- Previously planned Tube strike action has been cancelled and you can visit Transport for London for the latest information on travel.
It is expected that crowds will gather around central London which may make travelling around the city difficult, so do factor in extra time when travelling. Some areas of London may also be restricted in order to prepare security, road closures, and crowd-control ahead of the funeral.
There may be increased police presence and traffic disruption around campus as people queue to see the lying-in-state. This is expected as part of this mourning period and will decline after this time. Shops and services around campus may be closed for most of the day, so please check details for individual businesses.
More information on London travel during the mourning period can be found on the Transport for London website.
The security of our staff and student community is our top priority. Please check this page for LSE security updates.
Some areas of London may also be restricted in order to prepare security, road closures, and crowd-control ahead of the funeral. Please be mindful when coming onto campus.
Teaching will continue as normal during the period of national mourning. However, there will be no teaching on the day of the funeral and coronation day (once confirmed). We will communicate with you around this as necessary.
Events can continue during the mourning period but students and staff may want to consider the prevailing atmosphere. Planned events, processes and activities will need to be rescheduled or cancelled for the funeral day on 19 September.
Suggestions for events and speakers to acknowledge national mourning (not prescriptive or exhaustive):
- Wearing of black armbands, by chair/speaker/panel
- Suggested dress code for all attendees
- Minute’s silence at the beginning of the event
- Acknowledgement of national mourning in intro to the event. Briefing to be provided by the Events team
- Consider whether it is appropriate to hold the event and whether it should be rescheduled (e.g. if it’s a celebration or social occasion) or how it might best be conducted to reflect the national mood
Please contact our Events team who can support you with any rearrangements and protocols.
Support services
We understand this is a significant cultural event, so if you wish to mark the occasion at a local or personal level, please do so in a way which avoids disruption to teaching, deadlines, or business as usual.
Staff wishing to pay their respects should discuss with their line manager. Requests to visit The Queen lying-in-state should be considered as annual leave and facilitated as far as business need allows.
If you need support during this time, please take a look at the following resources if you feel this event impacts your studies, work, or wellbeing: