Remember When Elton John Performed a Special Version of “Candle in the Wind” at Princess Diana’s Funeral—Never To Be Performed Again

When it was announced that Princess Diana had passed away from a car accident, the world went into shock. Following her death on August 31, 1997, both the country and the world mourned her loss. Celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, George Clooney, and Michael Jackson were in attendance at Diana’s funeral. However, the individual who seemingly overcame the most grief was none other than Elton John.

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Not only was she a cultural icon, but she was a unique member of the royal family given her commonality. She was a woman of the people, and never let her title interfere with that. It was due to her character that led to John’s fondness and friendship with Diana. Consequently, it was this bond that made John perform “Candles in the Wind” at her funeral on September 6, 1997.

Elton John & Princess Diana’s Friendship

John and Diana had been friends ever since they first met at a party. “She was blessed with an incredible social ease, an ability to talk to anybody, to make herself seem ordinary,” John wrote about their first interaction in his autobiography, Me.

Subsequently, the two solidified a strong bond and remained friends for the longest time. However, the two’s friendship went on hold after Diana refused to write the foreword to a book in which the proceeds would be donated to the AIDS Foundation. Years later, the two reconciled at Gianni Versace’s funeral.

John’s Performance of “Candle in The Wind”

Given their long-time friendship, it made sense why John so badly wanted and needed to play at Diana’s funeral. Before the service, John and Bernie Taupin sat down to re-work the song for the memorial service. The main features John and Taupin edited were the lyrics, as the two included new lines such as You called out to our country / and you whispered to those in pain, Goodbye England’s rose, and This torch we’ll always carry / for our nation’s golden child.

John’s performance was legendary, sorrowful, and celebratory. By addressing both the elephant in the room and the magnitude of it, John’s performance seems to capture the grief of a nation in an exemplary way. Performing in front of 2,000 people, the televised performance also reached over two billion across the globe. Elton John’s tribute to Diana was not only a homage to a friend but also a blanket of comfort to the masses. It has gone down as one of the most sentimentally iconic tributes in music history and the re-worked version has never been performed live since.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns