Funerals aren't cheap. From paying undertakers to buying a burial plot – not forgetting the wake – the average cost of a funeral in the US is a hefty $9,420 (£8.7k) according to insurance agency Choice Mutual. But as you'd expect, for the richest in society, a funeral reflects how they lived and can cost millions.

From pop royalty to the British monarchy, read on to find out some of the most expensive funerals ever in today's money – including the recent state funerals of Queen Elizabeth II and Japanese leader Shinzo Abe.

When the King of Pop died in 2009 from a cardiac arrest caused by a drug overdose, the world was shocked – especially when Jackson's personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. However, the star certainly went out in style. The Jackson family funeral ceremony is thought to have cost $1 million (£758k), while the Los Angeles government spent an extra $1.3 million (£986k) on the televised public memorial service.

It's not a surprise the ceremony cost so much, considering that the gold casket that the star was buried in was worth $25,000 (£18.9k) alone. The event was watched by 31 million people.

Discover how Michael Jackson's kids make and spend their fortunes

Winston Churchill's funeral had been in the pipeline for over 10 years before he died of a cardiac arrest in 1965. "Operation Hope Not" was a meticulous plan for the former Prime Minister's state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral, London. It was a spectacular televised affair with a procession through the streets and the unprecedented honour of the Queen's attendance. 

The $285,000 bill at the time is the equivalent of $4.2 million (£3.9m) today. Following the ceremony, Churchill's coffin was transported by train to Bladon, Oxfordshire, near to his family estate of Blenheim Palace.

The first female British Prime Minister passed away on 8 April 2013 following a stroke, and nine days later was honoured with a state funeral. The ceremony, which Thatcher had planned herself before her death, took place at St Paul's Cathedral, London, with 2,000 guests in attendance.

The $5.3 million (£4m) funeral has been calculated to have costed taxpayers 6p each. Elsewhere in the country, however, many celebrated the death of the divisive public figure.

In 1997, Princess Diana – the "people's princess" – died tragically aged 36 in a car accident in Paris, causing an emotional outpouring across the world. Her funeral on 20 September that year was televised and watched by approximately 2.5 billion people globally.

Diana's funeral cost $6.6 million (£5m), the equivalent of $8.5 million (£7.9m) in today's money. It included a special performance from Elton John singing Candle in the Wind and was attended by the likes of George Michael, Imran and Jemima Khan, and Sting.

Queen Elizabeth II's mother, also named Elizabeth, was known as the Queen Mother. When she died at the age of 101, her 2002 state funeral was televised and is estimated to have cost around $5.8 million (£5.4m), the equivalent of around $8.6 million (£8m) today. 

Millions lined the streets to see the funeral procession and around the UK people observed a two minutes' silence at 11.30am, the moment when her coffin reached Westminster Abbey.

Twenty years after her mother, Queen Elizabeth II herself passed away on 8 September at the age of 96. The UK entered a 10-day mourning period during which the Queen's coffin was displayed at Westminster Abbey in London. Mourners queued for hours – and in some cases days – to pay their respects to the monarch before her state funeral on 19 September, which was declared a national bank holiday. 

The exact cost of the funeral has been kept firmly under wraps, but estimates suggest it's likely to have cost up to $10.8 million (£10m). It was attended by world leaders including Joe Biden, Jacinda Ardern, and Emperor Naruhito. 

Find out about Queen Elizabeth II's fortune, and what happens to it now

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe was assassinated on 8 July while giving a campaign speech. The country's longest-serving prime minister, Abe was a somewhat controversial figure – and the cost of his state funeral, just over a week after that of Queen Elizabeth II, has proved just as divisive. 

The affair reportedly cost 1.66 billion yen, the equivalent of $11.5 million (£10.6m). According to a poll by the news agency Kyodo, many Japanese people believe the government spent too much on Abe's funeral, which had a guest list of 700 including US Vice President Kamala Harris. No doubt a considerable portion of the cost was spent on the 20,000 police officers deployed to keep the event secure. 

From 1978 until his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II headed up the Catholic Church. When he passed away his funeral became the largest gathering of heads of state ever, with 70 presidents and prime ministers, five queens, four kings, and 14 other religious leaders. Britain's then-Prince Charles, now King Charles III, even postponed his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles by 24 hours so that he could attend.

The funeral was part of the novemdiales, a period of nine days of mourning, and the Pope was buried in a simple underground crypt. His native Poland had requested that his heart be buried there, but Pope John Paul II had expressed a wish for none of his body parts to be removed.

The much-loved 35th President of the United States was assassinated on 22 November 1963 while he was in Dallas, Texas. The news of his murder shocked not only America but the world. 

After Kennedy's body had been transported to Washington DC, hundreds of thousands of people came to view him and pay their respects. The state funeral took place on 25 November and cost a hefty $15 million (£13.8m) in today's money.

The Supreme Leader of North Korea passed away in 2011, sparking an atmosphere of mass hysteria and grief. As part of the funeral, which reportedly cost $40 million (£37m) in total, $1 million (£925.6k) was spent on bringing in Russian embalmers to deal with his body, which was then placed in a glass casket.

Millions of distraught mourners came out to watch the procession of their leader's body. Following the funeral, $10 million (£9.3m) was spent on a statue commemorating Kim Jong-Il, as well as the addition of his name to major intersections alongside his father's name, Kim Il-Sung.

Alexander the Great's 323 BC funeral is estimated to have cost the equivalent of a whopping $600 million (£555m). However, the price tag isn't so surprising when you consider that he was in a gold casket, on a gold carriage, pulled by 60 horses...

There are reports that the funerary cart took two years to design and build. It's not known how the body of the 32-year-old Macedon king was preserved, but some have suggested that it might have been submerged in a vat of honey. 

Ronald Reagan battled Alzheimer's disease for 10 years before he died from a bout of pneumonia in 2004. His state funeral was one of the most expensive of all former presidents, estimated to have cost over $800 million (£620m). The main reason for the high cost? Security, owing to the fact it was the first major event held after the 11 September attacks, and the $400 million (£310m) lost from the National Day of Mourning when federal workers were given the day off and the stock exchange closed.

The state funeral had 700 invited guests, including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, fellow actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Hollywood actors including Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Tom Selleck, and Charlton Heston. 

Now discover history's most expensive megaprojects, from the Great Wall of China to the US interstate