The Truth About Elton John's Relationship With Princess Diana

princess diana was an inspiration to many people and musician elton john was no exception elton and diana were friends for years though their friendship had a share of highs and lows after diana's tragic death in 1997 elton often expressed how he felt about the princess and her kindness elton john first came across princess diana at a royal event in 1981. it was prince andrew's 21st birthday bash and john was asked to come to the event and sing for the guests he obliged and even showed up early to the party john recollected when i arrived there was no one there but the dance band and princess diana we danced to charleston alone on the floor for 20 minutes the event got more animated as princess anne and the queen eventually joined in making the party more memorable than jon could have imagined meeting diana made him feel very connected to her he remarked she was blessed with an incredible social ease an ability to talk to anybody to make herself seem ordinary their meeting at the party was the beginning of a beautiful friendship elton john was closely associated with the royals even before he got to know princess diana john first met the royal family back in the 1970s when he was called to kensington palace for a meal his host was princess margaret who loved listening to music and admired musicians the dinner was an awkward affair though the princess and her husband lord snowden ended up quarreling while eating something that was unexpected john recalled lord snowden stormed in midway through the meal and literally snarled where's my dinner at her they had a huge row and she fled the room in tears over the years john became a regular guest at royal events it helped that he was gaining popularity as a musician and becoming a much loved celebrity jon interacted with several members of the royal family such as prince philip and queen elizabeth ii in fact philip once even joked to john that he needed to do something about his yellow aston martin he told john the car makes you look like a bloody fool get rid of it for elton john his growing friendship with princess diana meant that he was frequently around her and they often attended parties and social events together being in close proximity with diana made it easy for the singer to notice just how popular she really was according to jon men couldn't help but be charmed by the princess whenever they met her even hollywood's stars weren't immune in fact john even had a term for this phenomenon calling it the diana effect in his autobiography me that sort of crazy laugh of where there was just pure happiness shown on her face he had a particularly interesting anecdote to share from one of their events at a dinner party that included princess diana and hollywood stars richard gere and sylvester stallone jon found that the two actors were so attracted to diana that they almost ended up fighting each other for her attention stallone left and john recalls him saying i never would have come if i had known prince charming was going to be here if i'd wanted her i would have taken her jon noted in his autobiography that the princess was so endearing that she could even make hollywood stars behave like teenagers elton john got along well enough with princess diana to meet and interact with her kids and he was particularly fond of prince harry they first met in the 1990s at kensington palace it was a special lunch that was hosted by princess diana for elton john and acclaimed fashion designer johnny versace john revealed that prince harry was very shy at first but was sweet throughout their interaction and the singer liked him immediately he said what a joy it has been to see that young boy grow to inherit his mother's warmth sense of humor and courage to stand up and champion the causes he truly believes at elton john has remained on good terms with prince harry through the years and even sang at his wedding in 2018 in the 1990s elton john and princess diana's friendship went into a rough phase when they couldn't see eye to eye on a book diana was supposed to write the introduction to a photography book that was meant to help the aids foundation but she decided to withdraw from the project john later remarked i think buckingham palace didn't like the idea of a member of the royal family having anything to do with a book that featured shots of naked guys with towels draped around them the book was a collaborative effort between elton john and gianni versace the problem was that the book included pictures of the royal family as well as shots of nude male models princess diana wasn't pleased about this and didn't want to upset the queen which is why she decided to distance herself from the project this was troubling for john who hadn't expected his friend to back out despite the hiccups the book did get released and its proceeds were donated to john's aids foundation however this incident led to princess diana and elton john not speaking to each other when they ended up having a falling out over the photography book elton john did try to make an effort to reach out to princess diana and figure out what had happened writing to her and seeking an explanation however he was confused and upset about her actions john said of the incident i wrote back to her calling her out telling her how much money she had cost the aids foundation reminding her that she had seen the book diana did get back to him with a letter but she was quite formal and didn't speak to him the way she used to john got even more agitated after receiving her reply and they ended up not communicating for a time john later said it's one of those things that friends sometimes do you know they're too proud to pick up the phone their differences thankfully didn't last even though elton john and princess diana weren't on speaking terms the singer couldn't help but feel concerned he sensed that something was off but wasn't sure john recalled she seemed to be losing touch with all sorts of really close friends who would be honest with her and surrounding herself instead with people who told her what she wanted to hear john said that the ones who could help were pushed away toward the end of diana's life and she relied on quote the wrong people for comfort jon commented i always thought the people that really felt for her and really were true to her she just was a bit airy fairy towards the end elton john and princess diana crossed paths once more when tragedy struck in july 1997. they lost their close friend gianni versace who was murdered outside his home the event brought diana and john together again they met at the funeral and bonded over their shared loss and princess diana was a great source of strength for john at that point he said she kept her cool for me at gianni's funeral and she held her composure when i started crying and she put her arms around me and she was that's exactly what she was like john called diana quote caring and very calming person diana had reached out to john as soon as she found out about versace to check on her friend and his mental health john never forgot that gesture he said i loved her because she did so much for aids and she was a great friend to me we had her fallings out but we reconciled in the end that summer was unforgettable for elton john who lost versace and diana in the space of only weeks the event felt surreal to the musician who couldn't quite come to terms with what was happening elton john and princess diana didn't get much time together after the reunion sadly in august 1997 tragedy struck again when princess diana died in a car crash in paris the princess was being pursued by paparazzi when the devastating accident occurred elton john was asked to perform at his friend's funeral he said back then i was invited to the funeral anyway and now i've been asked to sing which is quite a daunting thing but i want to singing at the funeral was incredibly tough for john in fact he was so scared of messing up the lyrics of the song candle in the wind that he used a teleprompter that was placed close to his piano his performance was seen by millions of fans who were mourning princess diana's death in different parts of the world he called performing at the event a surreal experience and was trying to remain strong and stoic while singing in front of so many people approximately 2 000 people were present at the funeral john told himself don't break down and just do it to the best you can possibly do it without showing any emotion whatsoever losing princess diana was devastating for elton john who didn't know how to cope according to the telegraph the musician found out about his friend's death after someone sent him a fax with their condolences john was especially confused about the kind of attention his new version of candle in the wind received from the public the singer recreated the song for diana as a tribute the ballad became extremely popular among listeners and it's estimated that at least 33 million copies were sold globally however jon was not okay with the kind of attention the song received after diana's death he said there was a part of me that couldn't understand why anyone would want to listen to it under what circumstances would you play it i never did he was uneasy about how long the song remained on top of the charts adding it almost felt like wallowing in her death as if the morning for her had gotten out of hand as far as jon was concerned the hype around the song wasn't a good thing he distanced himself from it not talking about the funeral or his performance in any of his television interviews so there's a there's a you know there's a lot of there's a lot of grief that still needs to be um to be let out also the singer firmly believed that diana wouldn't have liked the kind of attention the song received he made it a point to never include it in his greatest hits albums as a mark of respect to princess diana even after princess diana's death elton john didn't forget the bond that they shared he was around for her sons harry and william and tried to lend to support whenever he could when prince harry and meghan markle were called out for using a private plane to visit him in france in 2019 john was livid and made his views clear on twitter he wrote that he was quite hurt by the explosive media accounts on the couple's visit stating prince harry's mother diana princess of wales was one of my dearest friends i feel a profound sense of obligation to protect harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to diana's untimely death he further wrote that the private plane that harry and megan used was carbon neutral and that it was something that jon had arranged on his own he wrote to support prince harry's commitment to the environment we ensured their flight was carbon neutral by making the appropriate contribution to carbon footprint john said that he decided to arrange the plane to ensure that the couple was adequately protected during their travels also he requested the media to leave perry and megan alone and respect their privacy for elton john it has always been important to remember princess diana in different ways he performed at a music concert for diana with william and harry by his side in 2007. harry said at the concert this evening is about all that my mother loved her music her charities her dance and all her friends john also made sure to show up for prince william and kate middleton's wedding celebrations in 2011 and said that he believed that diana would have been over the moon to see prince william and kate together he also said that he felt that they were lovely as a couple in 2017 john remembered diana again speaking about her on the 20th anniversary of her death he told the bbc that diana had a warmth and positivity that could be very comforting for others around her and that this quality would make them feel like things would eventually work out he also wrote a touching tribute on one of his social media accounts 20 years ago today the world lost an angel john let go of other work commitments to attend prince harry and meghan markle's wedding in 2018. he even performed your song for the royal family at the lunch reception as confirmed by a statement from kensington palace which read sir elton performed for the newly married couple in recognition of the close connection he has with prince harry and his family check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more grunge videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one

Channel: Grunge

Views: 219,443

Keywords: grunge, elton john, princess diana, royal family, musician

Id: rESgt5N6NeU

Length: 12min 33sec (753 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 01 2021