Simon Mann memorial service in London led by fiancée after death at 72

Simon Mann, the former SAS officer whose career spanned adventurer, mercenary, and private security fixer, died on May 8, 2025, at age 72. He passed away in the arms of his fiancée, Negar Yazdani, and a memorial service was held Friday at the Guards Chapel in central London to honor his life.

Yazdani led mourners at the service, accompanied by Mann’s third wife, Amanda, and his son Jack, who wore a dark blue suit and carried an order of service. Jack, the son from Mann’s first marriage, has been cited in past coverage for connections to Mann’s circle, including media mentions of him being named in relation to Prince Harry’s circle at one point, a reflection of the high-profile associations surrounding Mann’s long career.

Negar Yazdani described the memorial as a beautiful celebration of a remarkable life, thanking friends, family, and former colleagues who traveled from around the world to attend. She said Mann was not only a great man, but a legend and a hero whose legacy would live on in the hearts of all who knew him. She recalled their relationship as a turning point toward a quieter life, noting that Mann had asked her to consider marrying him early on and that he hoped to propose properly with a ruby once he was free from past turmoil. Yazdani said he had been eager to build a family life away from conflict, and that in the days before his death he was engaged in everyday life—learning to cook, rereading Shakespeare, and discussing new technologies.

Mann’s life story blends privilege with a long career in military and private security ventures. He was born into a family with substantial means: his father, George Mann, captained the England cricket team in the 1940s and was an heir to the Watney Mann brewing empire. After graduating from Sandhurst, Mann served in the Scots Guards and the Special Air Service, including time in Cyprus, Germany, Norway, and Northern Ireland, and he also served as a reservist during the 1991 Gulf War. In 1996 he helped form the mercenary company Sandline International with former Scots Guards colonel Tim Spicer, which operated in conflicts in Angola and Sierra Leone.

The 2004 Wonga Coup brought Mann into international headlines. He and about 70 other ex-servicemen were briefly detained during a stop at Harare Airport as they were to be loaded with weapons and equipment to allegedly overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. Mann was jailed in Zimbabwe on charges of attempting to purchase arms for the coup and received a seven-year sentence, while 66 other defendants were acquitted. The affair was tied to a broader set of interests, including Lebanese fixer Eli Calil, who financed parts of the operation, and the involvement of Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was later arrested in South Africa after admitting to participating in the plot.

Following his time in Zimbabwe’s Black Beach Prison, where malaria and cramped conditions marked a difficult stint, Mann was extradited to Equatorial Guinea in 2007 after a controversial agreement between the two governments. He spent time in Obiang’s prison system before being released on a humanitarian pardon in 2009, returning to the United Kingdom and settling in the New Forest with Amanda. The couple was reported to have split in 2024, and Mann subsequently began a relationship with Negar Yazdani, the partner who stood beside him at his death and led the memorial service.

The memorial Friday brought together colleagues from Mann’s military and private-security world, his family, and friends who had followed his long life of public and private ventures. While his career drew criticism for its risks and readouts of violence, those attending the service emphasized a personal arc of change and affection in his later years. Yazdani spoke of a man who evolved toward a life he valued—one rooted in loyalty, curiosity about the world, and a focus on the people who mattered most to him.

In reflecting on Mann’s legacy, attendees acknowledged the complex and sometimes controversial path he walked—from elite military service to the private security industry and the high-stakes politics of coups and mercenary activity. The service concluded with tributes from former colleagues and family members who remembered him for more than his notoriety, focusing on the family life he hoped to build and the marriages that framed his personal journey. As the guests departed, the mood suggested both mourning and a recognition of a life that spanned multiple eras of modern conflict and private enterprise.