Earl Spencer Reveals the Song Elton John Almost Performed at Diana's Funeral Before an Unlikely Celebrity Stepped In
The reinvented version of “Candle in the Wind” was actually a pivot from the pop singer's original plan.
In Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Charles Spencer shares what happened in the days between Princess Diana’s 1997 death and her funeral, and while one aspect of the historic church service is now legendary, it almost didn’t happen.
Sir Elton John was a close friend of Diana’s, and although they had sadly fallen out the month before she died, he was chosen to perform a song at her September 6, 1997 funeral. This was a notable move, as the 9th Earl Spencer wrote, explaining that because of Diana’s “modern outlook” the palace veered from “the same ‘dusty old plan’” for a royal funeral.
Aside from Diana’s brother’s moving eulogy, John’s performance of “Candle in the Wind” is perhaps the most memorable part of her funeral, but Spencer wrote that the pop star had originally chosen a different song.
Elton John sits in thought before his performance at Princess Diana's funeral.
“Originally, as can be seen in the first draft of the funeral’s Order of Service, circulated on 2 September, Elton John was going to perform another hit, ‘Your Song,’ for Diana,” Spencer wrote. “But Richard Branson seems to have stepped in.”
The Virgin Group founder—another friend of Diana's—contacted John with an idea to change the lyrics to “Candle in the Wind” to be about the princess, as he revealed decades later. As Earl Spencer wrote, Branson shared that he “rang Elton” and said: “How about rewriting ‘Candle in the Wind’ and I’ll try to get the archbishop to accept it into the funeral service?"
According to Spencer, the Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey backed the idea, sending a fax to the palace and “urging ‘boldness’” as he thought the song “would add greatly to the inclusivity of what was going to be a service for the people.”
Diana and Elton John attended Gianni Versace's funeral just a month before she died.
Songwriter Bernie Taupin then faxed over the reworked lyrics to John in Windsor, and as Spencer explained, “from there it went to Richard Branson in London, then arrived with my eldest sister Sarah, in Lincolnshire. She sent it quickly on, and I read it through in my study at Althorp.”
Spencer said that his “approval was immediate” and he found the song “so deeply moving,” that during the funeral’s rehearsal, he had to make “a mental note” about the performance.
Earl Spencer’s eulogy took place following John’s song, and he made a plan to “not listen to the song too intently on the day in case it overwhelmed me.”
