Ex-Prince Andrew to Receive Royal Funeral Despite Being Stripped of Titles: Report
Ex-Prince Andrew to Receive Royal Funeral Despite Being Stripped of Titles: Report
Meredith KileMon, August 10, 2026 at 6:46 PM UTC
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty -
The former Prince Andrew will reportedly still receive a royal funeral despite being stripped of his royal titles, according to the Daily Mail
The outlet reported this week that Andrew’s name remains on a confidential government list of royal family members set to receive high-profile funerals
It’s thought that the former Duke of York will be laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore
Despite being stripped of his royal titles amid renewed interest in his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the former Prince Andrew will reportedly still receive a royal funeral.
The Daily Mail reported on Aug. 8 that the former Duke of York remains on a secret government list of royal family members who will receive high-profile funeral ceremonies when they die. The meticulous plans, prepared years in advance, are known as the “bridge plans,” as each family member’s plan is named for a famous bridge in the U.K.
When Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, “Operation London Bridge” went into action. The plan, created as early as the 1960s and revised on a regular basis, outlined the specific ceremonial protocols and security measures needed to handle her death at Balmoral Castle and safely transport her body back to London. When her husband, Prince Philip, died the year prior, it was “Operation Forth Bridge” that was set in motion.
Prince Andrew, King Charles III, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward at Westminster Abbey for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022 in London, England.Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
The plans are kept secret until the royal dies. However, the Daily Mail reported that it is believed that Andrew’s funeral service will be held at St. George’s Chapel before he is laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, a 33–acre private cemetery in Home Park, Windsor.
While all royals were previously interred in the Royal Vault below St. George’s Chapel, space has become limited in recent decades. Since 1930, many senior royals aside from the monarch and their immediate family have been buried at the Royal Burial Ground.
Queen Elizabeth’s uncle King Edward VIII — who became the Duke of Windsor after abdicating the throne in 1936, less than a year after his coronation — is also buried there. Despite their known ties to Adolf Hitler and sympathies for the Nazi Party, both the Duke and his wife, Wallis Simpson, are buried alongside members of the royal family at Frogmore.
As for pallbearers, in Andrew’s case, it’s thought that officers from the Royal Navy may be asked to participate in the service. Andrew actively served in the Royal Navy from 1979 to 2001, including during the Falklands War, for which he was awarded the South Atlantic Medal with rosette.
When King Charles stripped his younger brother of his royal titles in October 2025 due to his Epstein ties, he also lost his honorary rank as vice admiral in the Royal Navy. However, he was allowed to keep his medals earned in service.
Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry, who captained the Royal Navy’s HMS Fearless, told the Daily Mail that he believes the Navy would provide volunteers to serve as pallbearers at Andrew’s funeral.
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“The guy doesn’t relinquish being a naval officer,” Parry said. “He wasn’t thrown out. He had a Falklands medal, and you can’t take that away from him, and he deserves the credit for that. If somebody said to me, ‘Would you do it?’ I’d do it.’ ”
Prince Andrew starts a new job as a Royal Navy Helicopter Pilot on board HMS Brazen in June 1984Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
Andrew stepped away from his public royal role in 2019 after a BBC interview about his ties to Epstein. He was then stripped of his military titles and patronages by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, in January 2022, after he attempted to have Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed. The Duke of York settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed sum in February 2022, and she died by suicide on April 24, 2025.
Then, in October 2025, King Charles stripped Andrew’s royal titles after his ties to Epstein came under renewed scrutiny, as the U.S. Department of Justice released thousands of pages of Epstein-related evidence, including multiple mentions and photos of Andrew. He and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, were also forced to relinquish the lease on their longtime Windsor residence, Royal Lodge.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and Ferguson has not been accused of any.
Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attend the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025Credit: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
In February 2026, the former Duke of York was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, related to a claim that he shared confidential information with Epstein during his time as a U.K. trade envoy. It marked the first arrest of a royal since 1649, when King Charles I was beheaded for high treason.
Andrew was released after about 11 hours in police custody and now faces an uncertain legal road ahead. The King reacted to the arrest with a brief statement, saying, “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office… Let me state clearly: The law must take its course.”
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Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, told PEOPLE at the time that the King’s choice of words was a deliberate way of “distancing himself.”
“That reverence people once had for the royal family is disappearing,” she said. “This is the damage Andrew has done.”
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