Elton John, the performance at Lady Diana’s funeral (and the doubts of the royal family)

The unforgettable exhibition of Elton John at the funeral of Lady Diana, on September 6, 1997, seriously risked not unfold due to the perplexities of casa Windsor. According to some documents that have remained secret until today, in fact, it was the Dean of Westminster, the reverend Wesley Carr, to put pressure on royal family to invite the famous musician to play in theAbbazia on the occasion oflast farewell to the princess.

“This is a crucial point of the funeral service and we wish therefore to urge you to be bold“, We read in the letter made public, sent by thearchpriest to the lieutenant colonel Malcolm Ross, with Downing Street as a copy. «It is the moment where the unexpected happens and modernity is evoked represented by Lady Diana, ”adds Carr, according to whom choosing the British pop star would have had as well a positive impact on public opinion.

Many, in fact, had lashed out against Buckingham Palace per the cold reaction to the Paris tragedy: «I respectfully suggest that any other choral piece (also a popular classic by Andrew Lloyd Webber) would be inappropriate. I think the attached Elton John song is better: it would represent a gesture of imagination and generosity against millions of people who are experiencing grief like a personal fact».

The London artist had readjusted the song Candle in the Wind, composing Goodbye England’s Rose on text by Bernie Taupin. Words that some at court thought might be too much “sentimental», So much so that from the declassified files it emerges that it was even ready a plan B with protagonist a young saxophonist. And from the first draft of the program, moreover, we learn that the song in the lineup it was initially Your Song.

How and when they are changed plans it is not clear. The fact is that in the end Elton John played Candle in the Wind 1997, became the second best-selling single ever in History of music.