You haven’t got to be royal to plan your own funeral

It’s been mentioned many times over the last week or so that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, planned the details of his funeral.  Many, many times...

He had a hand in everything from the hearse to the music, the readings to the fact that there was no eulogy.

Prince Philip thought about his funeral in advance and made sure that it not only went as he wished but that his family knew what he wanted.

That’s a lesson for us all.

There’s no reason why all of us can’t write down what we’d like – in as much or as little detail as we want – and so give our own families the same relief at not having to second guess our wishes.

All you need to do is make some notes and give as many copies as you like to whoever you trust to put the arrangements in place when you die.  Don’t forget that if you change your mind or want to add something, you’ll have to make sure that everyone gets a copy of the new version – and do put the date on all of your notes.

You can write the entire order of service if you like, but you could start off by answering these questions:

• Do you want there to be a funeral service, or do you not want to have any service at all?
• Burial or cremation?
• Religious or non-religious?
• Where do you want the funeral to take place (eg which cemetery or crematorium)?
• What favourite readings or music would you like to have in the service?

There are lots more details into which you can go if you want, but any choices that you make in advance will help your nearest and dearest when the time comes.

Planning the details of your funeral doesn’t have to include paying for it, but if you’d like to take this step have a look at Open Prepaid FuneralPlans.

The main thing is to make a start – put something on a blank page and come back to it as often as you want.

When people have some information they are grateful not to be uncertain about what they are doing.

There is one caveat: you might find that your family and friends are not comfortable with your plans.  They might be more traditionalist than you, or simply feel that there should be more or less “fuss” than you have specified.

For this reason please have a conversation about what you’ve decided and why.  Explain your decisions and try to get people to accept your point of view, whatever that might be and even if they disagree with it.

Prince Philip made sure that he got what he wanted; we can all do the same.  Why not make a start now?

You might find these links helpful in your planning:

https://www.funeralinspirations.co.uk/

https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/

http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/