Wearing and Displaying Medals at a UK Military Funeral

The Basic Rule: Left Breast for Your Own, Right for a Relative's

Medal etiquette at UK military funerals follows one clear principle that covers nearly every situation:

• Your own medals go on the left breast
• A deceased relative's medals go on the right breast

This applies to both men and women, and the rule is the same whether you are wearing a suit, a dress, or any other form of civilian clothing.

The right-breast convention signals to other attendees that the medals are not the wearer's own — they are carried in tribute to someone who earned them. It is a quiet, widely understood mark of respect.

Who Can Wear a Relative's Medals?

The privilege is traditionally restricted to near relatives, such as a spouse, parent, sibling, or child. They may wear the deceased relative's medals at a funeral on the right breast of civilian dress.

The one hard rule: never wear someone else's medals while wearing a military uniform. A relative's medals may only be worn on the right breast in civilian dress. A veteran attending in their own regimental tie and lounge suit wears their own medals on the left and can additionally wear a near relative's on the right, but a veteran in full dress uniform wears only their own.

Displaying Medals on the Coffin

The deceased's service medals are traditionally displayed on a velvet cushion placed at the head of the coffin. For Royal Navy personnel, the traditional cushion colour is:

• Navy blue is traditional for Royal Navy personnel

The medals are pinned to the cushion in the correct order of precedence (the order they would be worn on the left breast, from the wearer's right to left).

The cushion sits at the head of the coffin, beside or beneath the service cap if one is also displayed. The funeral director is responsible for removing the cushion and medals before burial or cremation, and returning them to the family.

Practical Tips for the Day

Check the mounting. If the medals have been stored for years, the pin clasps and ribbons may be brittle. Test the mounting on clothing beforehand. Safety pins work as a backup but should be concealed behind the medal bar.

Arrive with medals already in place. Fiddling with medal bars in the car park or vestibule looks rushed. Put them on before you leave home.

Lounge suit is the default for veterans. The expected civilian attire for a veteran attending a military funeral is a dark lounge suit with a regimental or association tie, medals mounted on the left breast. This is not formal evening dress — miniature medals are for mess dinners, not funerals.

Medals on the coffin cushion are removed before committal. If you are concerned about the medals being handled, confirm with the funeral director who will remove them and where they will be kept during the committal and afterwards.

Why This Matters

Medal etiquette may seem like a small detail in the context of a funeral. But at a military service, where many attendees are veterans who have worn their own medals for decades, getting it wrong is immediately noticeable — and unintentionally wearing medals on the wrong side can cause real discomfort among those present.

For the full protocol on medals, dress code, and every other ceremonial element, our Military Funeral — UK guide covers it all in one place.