{"id":541865,"date":"2025-11-01T10:46:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T10:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/541865\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T10:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T10:46:14","slug":"how-the-royal-family-nearly-stopped-this-famous-princess-diana-tribute-too-sentimental","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/541865\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Royal Family Nearly Stopped This Famous Princess Diana Tribute: \u201cToo Sentimental\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana passed away in a traffic collision. Days later, the world watched the Princess\u2019s funeral live on TV. One of the most iconic moments of that televised funeral was Elton John<\/a>\u2018s performance of his reimagined single, \u201cCandle In The Wind\u201d. However, the royal family almost stopped it from ever transpiring.<\/p>\n

Released in 1973, John and Taupin originally wrote the song as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe. Armed with the desire to celebrate Diana\u2019s life, Elton John and Bernie Taupin reimagined the work. According to Sky News<\/a>, some members of the royal family pushed back on the idea of the performance. Reportedly, they viewed the idea of John\u2019s performance as \u201ctoo sentimental\u201d.<\/p>\n

How a Reverend Helped the Royal Family See the Importance of the Performance <\/p>\n

Other than the song being \u201ctoo sentimental,\u201d the other details about the royal family\u2019s reluctance towards the performance are unknown. Although, what isn\u2019t, is how the former Dean of Westminster helped the royal family see the necessity in John\u2019s lamentation.<\/p>\n

Regarding the necessity of John\u2019s performance, Reverend Dr. Wesley Carr wrote in a letter to a senior member of the royal household, \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe has written new words to the tune which is being widely played and sung throughout the nation in memory of Diana. It is all the time 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\u2014only sung,\u201d concluded Reverend Dr. Wesley Carr.<\/p>\n

Carr\u2019s plea not only altered the hesitant perspective, but also hit the importance of the performance right on the head. Princess Diana was far more than a member of the royal family, as she was also a cultural icon. A cultural icon who brought a human touch to an entity that masses believed and still believe greatly lacked one.<\/p>\n

Photo by Express\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana passed away in a traffic collision. Days later, the world watched the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[2866,711,5105,7710,519,448],"class_list":{"0":"post-541865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-elton-john","9":"tag-pop-music","10":"tag-royal","11":"tag-royal-families","12":"tag-royal-family","13":"tag-royals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115474044231260704","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}