Funeral directors to the Royal Household

The Funeral directors to the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom are selected and appointed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office.

Usually privately owned and commercially operated businesses, the funeral directors to the Royal Household do not have more than an occasional role, although they will be called upon if a death occurs in the Royal Family to assist in arranging the funeral arrangements.

The same companies are normally used to assist during state or ceremonial funerals of eminent people outside the Royal Family, for example Sir Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher.

Although comparable in their role and function to Royal Warrant holders, the funeral directors serving the Royal Household do traditionally not advertise the fact that they work for the Royal Family.

It is not known when the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom began to employ privately owned and commercially operated funeral directors' companies. In the early 19th century, the royal undertakers were the family business of William Banting of St. James’s Street, London. The Banting family conducted the funerals of King George III in 1820, King George IV in 1830, the Duke of Gloucester in 1834, the Duke of Wellington in 1852, Prince Albert in 1861, Prince Leopold in 1884, Queen Victoria in 1901, and King Edward VII in 1910. The royal undertaking warrant for the Banting family ended in 1928 with the retirement of William Westport Banting.

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