Deborah Chan
Elton John performed at the wedding reception of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle. The singer, who was a close friend of Harry's mother, Princess Diana, played a four-song set, including Your Song, Circle of Life, I'm Still Standing, and Tiny Dancer, the latter of which was a nod to Markle's acting career. There was also speculation that John would sing Candle in the Wind at the wedding, a song he dedicated to Princess Diana at her funeral in 1997.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Elton John's song at the royal wedding | "Your Song," "Tiny Dancer," "Circle of Life," and "I'm Still Standing" |
| Elton John's introduction at the royal wedding | "Does anyone here know how to play the piano?" |
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What You'll Learn
Elton John's performance at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding reception
Sir Elton John performed at the lunchtime reception following the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle. The singer, who was a close friend of Harry's mother, Princess Diana, played a four-song set, including "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Circle of Life", and "I'm Still Standing".
Prince Harry reportedly introduced Elton John by ending a short speech with the joke, "Does anyone here know how to play the piano?". John's performance was in recognition of his close connection with Prince Harry and his family. The singer had said in March that he hadn't received an invitation to the royal wedding, though he had already rescheduled two of his performances, which were originally set for the wedding weekend.
John's appearance at the wedding was not surprising, given his longstanding friendship with the royal family. He first met Princess Diana at a private lunch at Kensington Palace, hosted by the Princess for Gianni Versace and John. He also performed "Candle in the Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, a song he rewrote to honour the People's Princess.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding included several tributes to Princess Diana. Markle's ring featured outside stones from Princess Diana's jewellery collection, and Diana's family members were in attendance.
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Elton John's friendship with Princess Diana
Elton John and Princess Diana's friendship began in 1981 at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle. They danced the Charleston together for 20 minutes and John felt an immediate kinship with the Princess. He wrote in his autobiography, "She was blessed with an incredible social ease, an ability to talk to anybody, to make herself seem ordinary".
The pair became firm friends and John observed the "Diana Effect" she had on men, recounting a dinner party where both Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone became smitten with her, almost resulting in a fistfight between the two actors. John also noticed that despite her disdain for royal formality, she maintained a distant and frosty relationship with her husband, Prince Charles.
Their friendship was not without its difficulties, and they had a major falling out over a professional collaboration. Diana was supposed to write the foreword for a fashion photography book by Gianni Versace, which was raising funds for John's AIDS Foundation. However, she pulled out due to concerns over the semi-nude shots of men featured in the book. John was furious and felt that Diana was losing touch with her close friends, instead surrounding herself with people who told her what she wanted to hear. They reconciled at Versace's funeral, just six weeks before Diana's tragic death in 1997.
John bravely performed a rewritten version of his song 'Candle in the Wind' at Diana's funeral, with new lyrics by Bernie Taupin, honouring Diana and capturing the emotion of the British public. Their friendship had clearly meant a lot to both of them, and John continues to defend her son, Prince Harry, and his family to this day.
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Elton John's performance of Candle in the Wind at Princess Diana's funeral
On 6 September 1997, Elton John performed a rewritten version of his 1973 song "Candle in the Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral in Westminster Abbey, London. The new version, called "Candle in the Wind 1997" or "Goodbye England's Rose", was a tribute to Diana, with lyrics adapted to suit the circumstances of her life and death. John re-recorded the song with a string quartet and woodwind instruments, and it was released as a single on 13 September 1997, with global proceeds going to Diana's charities.
John was a close friend of Diana's, and he wanted to pay tribute to her following her death. In his autobiography, John writes that he was contacted by Richard Branson, who said that many people writing in the book of condolence at St James's Palace were quoting the lyrics of "Candle in the Wind". Branson asked if John would rewrite the lyrics and sing them at the funeral. John believed that this request came from the Spencer family, and so he contacted his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to revise the lyrics. John has since refused to perform the revised version of the song in public, except for at Diana's funeral.
The performance at the funeral was almost not approved by the royal family, as Buckingham Palace did not want John to sing "Candle in the Wind". However, the Dean of Westminster argued for the song's inclusion, and it ultimately went ahead. John's performance was one of the most memorable parts of the service, and the song went on to become the best-selling single in UK chart history and won John a Grammy Award.
Elton John also performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, where he sang "Tiny Dancer" for the bride. John was a close friend of Harry's mother, Princess Diana, and his performance at the wedding was in recognition of this connection.
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The royal family's close connection to Elton John
The British Royal Family and Sir Elton John have been close friends for decades. Elton John's connection to the royal family goes back to the 1970s when he was invited to dinner at Kensington Palace by Princess Margaret, who was a huge music fan. Elton's growing songbook and proximity to Windsor Castle made his interactions with the royals more frequent. In the late 1970s, Prince Philip made fun of Elton's Aston Martin, which he had painted in the colours of the Watford Football Club, of which he was chairman. Elton John also attended Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew's wedding in 1986.
Elton John was a close friend of Harry's mother, Princess Diana, whom he met when he performed at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle. They went through a rough patch after John printed photos of Diana and her sons among shots of nude male models in a 1997 coffee table book he released with Gianni Versace. However, they reconciled when Versace was assassinated, and they attended his funeral together. Elton performed an amended version of "Candle in the Wind" at Diana's funeral and later at a London tribute concert for her 10 years after her death.
Elton John has continued his friendship with the royal family through Prince Harry. The two have bonded over their work to end the global AIDS epidemic and have attended the International AIDS Conference together. Elton has reportedly made an effort to speak to Harry and Meghan every day and is very protective of them. He defended the couple from backlash after they used his private jet to travel with their son Archie to the singer's summer house in Nice, France. Royal biographer Tina Brown wrote in her book, "The Palace Papers," that Elton may have been responsible for Meghan and Harry's £80 million contract with Netflix through his husband David Furnish's connections.
Elton John performed at the wedding reception of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in recognition of his close connection to the couple and the royal family. He played a number of songs, including a dedication of "Tiny Dancer" for the bride.
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The songs Elton John performed at the wedding reception
At the wedding reception of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Sir Elton John performed a four-song set. John was introduced by Prince Harry, who asked the guests, "Does anyone here know how to play the piano?". John then sat by the piano and performed "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Circle of Life", and "I'm Still Standing". "Tiny Dancer" was dedicated to the bride, Meghan Markle, with the lyric "L.A. lady" nodding to her acting career.
John's performance at the royal wedding was particularly significant due to his close friendship with Harry's mother, Princess Diana. In 1997, John performed a revised version of "Candle in the Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral, and he also took the stage at a London tribute concert for her 10 years after her death. Given Harry's emphasis on honouring his mother throughout his engagement to Meghan, it was speculated that John might sing "Candle in the Wind" at the wedding as well.
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Frequently asked questions
Elton John performed four songs: "Your Song", "Circle of Life", "I'm Still Standing", and "Tiny Dancer".
No, he did not. However, he did sing the song at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997.
Elton John was a close friend of Princess Diana, Prince Harry's mother. He also had a close relationship with the royal family.
Yes, Elton John attended the wedding ceremony earlier in the day in Windsor.
