I don't think Joel's right about a funeral taking the heat off the family.

For one thing there was no serious heat at the time. The family had gotten away with their crimes for years, slithering out of all legal charges time and again. FFing had stopped and the Lord Justice Ward had let the family off the hook in the English case.

I don't think any authorities were even seriously trying get Berg. They were all too happy to just forget the whole thing.

As for the fake name, it fits the SOP of the Family leadership. He was in the country under a false name already. If he suddenly showed up dead under his real name it would have been a stink. It was easier to just bury him under the false name and be done with him. That's certainly what they would have done to any of us if we died in an illegal situation under an assumed name.

And in his old age dememtia Berg was already more of a burden than a help to Maria and the royal court. His ability to rally support was already gone, and every time he opened his mouth he hurt his own "image". It wouldn't surprise me if they finally poisoned him and then buried him in a garbage can at a local landfill.