The Dean of Westminster personally appealed to Buckingham Palace to allow Sir Elton John to sing Candle In The Wind at Princess Diana’s funeral.
This performance is one of the highlights of the Westminster Abbey service.
However, papers released by the National Archives suggest there was resistance to the plan amid concerns that the rewritten lyrics – including the opening line ‘Goodbye England’s rose’ – were ‘too sentimental’.
In the event the dean, the Very Rev Dr Wesley Carr, successfully argued that allowing Sir Elton to appear would be an ‘imaginative and generous’ gesture to the public who had turned against the Royal Family after the princess’s death.
Dr Carr’s note to a senior member of the royal household was copied to No 10, although there is no record of the reply.
Dodi Fayed was Diana’s boyfriend. He is the son of Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed. They were killed in a Paris car accident on August 31, 1997. There was a great outpouring from grief.
Candle In The Wind was originally composed in honor of Marilyn Monroe. It has been widely used and is played today as a tribute to her friend, Sir Elton.
In response, the singer rewrote the lyrics, changing the opening line from ‘Goodbye Norma Jean’ (Monroe’s real name) to ‘Goodbye England’s rose’.
Elton John performed a rewritten rendition of his song, ‘Candle-in the wind,’ in a memorial to Diana Princess of Wales at her funeral
Queen Elizabeth pictured with the Dean, Wesley Carr at Westminster Abbey in 1997
Earl Spencer addresses the crowd inside Westminster Abbey as part of the funeral for Diana.
In a note to a senior member of the royal household, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Ross, Dr Carr – who was involved in negotiations over the service between the Palace and Diana’s family – said it had captured the public mood.
‘This is a crucial point in the service and we would urge boldness. It is where the unexpected happens and something of the modern world that the princess represented,’ he wrote.
‘I respectfully suggest that anything classical or choral (even a popular classic such as something by Lloyd Webber) is inappropriate.
‘Better would be the enclosed song by Elton John (known to millions and his music was enjoyed by the princess), which would be powerful.
‘He has written new words to the tune which is being widely played and sung throughout the nation in memorial to Diana. It’s heard all day on the radio.
‘Its use here would be imaginative and generous to the millions who are feeling personally bereaved: it is popular culture at its best.
‘If it were thought the words too sentimental (although that is by no means a bad thing given the national mood), they need not be printed – only sung.
‘I would be prepared to discuss the significance of this suggestion over the phone with anyone.’
Also, the papers reveal that Sir Elton was originally thought by the Abbey to have intended to sing Your Song. This incorrectly was listed as Our Song in the first draft service order.
In the notes, it is described as ‘a different style of music, popular and associated with the princess’.