Center Parcs, the Queen’s funeral and the pitfalls of the performative ‘mark of respect’

Of all the many uniformed and plumed soldiers, glum-faced clergymen, stoic princes and glossy steeds, who would have thought that middle-class holiday favourite Center Parcs would have played such a visible role in the first day of the Queen’s Lying-in-State?

They didn’t have to be involved at all, of course. But someone at the top of the company – presumably seeing that everyone from knicker merchants Ann Summers to dough ball legends Pizza Express were lowering their metaphorical flags to half-mast – felt that the UK’s family-friendly forest retreats should join in with such PDMs (public displays of mourning).

So Center Parcs said something. Not merely that it offered its condolences to the royal family or sincerely felt for its customers at this sad time… but that it would be booting out guests for the entire day and night of the Queen’s funeral.

Mid-morning on Tuesday, it released a statement saying all guests would have to evacuate its parks at 10am on the morning of the funeral, Monday 19 September, and would only be allowed to return at 10am the following day. This decision, it explained, had been taken “as a mark of respect and to allow as many of our colleagues as possible to be part of this historic moment.”

“We hope our guests will understand our decision to support our Queen on her final journey,” typed the unlucky communications professional as a sign-off. The brand said that it would contact booked guests by email to factor in a small discount to their trip price.

Needless to say, holidaymakers were more than a tad miffed. Center Parcs mainly attracts families and large groups – i.e. the people who can least afford to be flexible and last-minute about their travel plans.

“Very angry about this – we are not travelling directly to you, so this has left us stranded half way up the country without accommodation for a night. Thirty per cent [discount] offered is nowhere near close enough to covering the extra costs,” wrote one guest on Twitter.

“When do we receive a refund for the activities we had to cancel for Monday/Tuesday morning?” wrote another. “Ours come to over £300 as we had the spa booked for my friend’s birthday. This is not a small amount of money.”

“You’re closing your sites at very short notice as a mark of respect, while showing very little respect for your customers,” summarised one irked patron on the group’s Facebook page.

Thousands of astonished replies later, on Tuesday evening…