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From Rocket Man to Tiny Dancer and all the hits in between, members of the British Royal Family have been long-time fans of Sir Elton John, who turns 78 today.
For Elton (real name Reginald Kenneth Dwight), mingling with royalty was a far cry from his working-class childhood in a council house in Pinner, north-west London.
But his close relationship with multiple generations of royals started in the 1970s when he accepted a gold-embossed invitation to dinner at Kensington Palace from Princess Margaret, who was a huge music fan.
Elton’s growing songbook – as well as living within close proximity to Windsor Castle – only made his interactions with the royals more frequent.
In the late 1970s, Prince Philip made fun of Elton’s Aston Martin, which he had seen the singer driving around the Old Windsor neighbourhood. As chairman of Watford Football Club, the Crocodile Rock singer had the car painted in bright yellow with a red and black stripe – the team colours .
But, according to Elton’s 2019 biography Me, the late Duke of Edinburgh did not have the same sense of club pride, telling him: ‘What the hell are you thinking? Ridiculous. Makes you look like a bloody fool. Get rid of it.’
Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, who was a frequent dinner guest at Elton’s Windsor home,did not mind the bright yellow car sitting in the drive. The unlikely pair would dance to her favourite record, an old Irish drinking song called Slattery’s Mounted Foot.
Writing in his biography, Elton confirmed that Elizabeth II was just as fond of music as her mother. At Prince Andrew’s 21st birthday, the late Queen asked to join Elton as he danced to Bill Haley’s Rock Around The Clock with Princess Anne. ‘It was one of the most surreal moments of my life,’ he penned.
Singer-songwriter Elton John turns 78 today. Members of the British Royal Family have been long-time fans of his music
Elton John rekindles his friendship with Queen Elizabeth II backstage at her Jubilee Concert in June 2012
Clearly comfortable around Elton, the late Queen once jokily reprimanded her brother-in-law David Armstrong-Jones, otherwise known as Viscount Linley, in front of him. ‘The Queen lightly slapped him across the face, saying ‘Don’t’ – SLAP – ‘argue’ – SLAP – ‘with’ – SLAP – ‘me’ – SLAP – ‘I’ – SLAP – ‘am’ – SLAP – ‘the Queen!’ Allegedly, when Her Majesty saw Elton watching, she winked at him before walking away.
The late Queen became such a fan of the eccentric singer that he performed at three of Her Majesty’s jubilees.
He was also made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1996 and knighted in 1998, just a few months after his unforgettable performance at the funeral for Diana, Princess of Wales.
Opening up about his genuine friendship with Diana, Elton wrote in his autobiography that he ‘instantly clicked’ with the princess at the Windsor Castle Ball in 1981.
‘[We] ended up pretending to dance the Charleston while hooting at the disco’s feebleness,’ he said.
‘She was fabulous company… a real gossip: you could ask her anything and she’d tell you.’
Like many, Elton noted that Diana had been ‘blessed with an incredible social ease, an ability to make people feel totally comfortable in her company.’
As an AIDS activist, Diana worked closely with Elton, who established the AIDS Foundation in 1992.
Princess Diana and Elton John met at a Windsor Castle Ball in 1981 and ‘instantly clicked’
Princess Diana chats with Elton John and George Michael at the Live Aid Concert in 1985
The pair (pictured in 1993), were both AIDS activists and friends for more than 15 years before Diana’s tragic death
Although they were ‘very dear’ friends for 15 years, the pair fell out six months before Diana’s tragic death in August 1997.
It has been reported that Diana pulled out of writing a foreword for a coffee-table book called Rock And Royalty, put together by their mutual friend Gianni Versace.
After agreeing to attend the book launch and fundraising dinner for Elton’s AIDS Foundation (for which more than £300,000 worth of tickets had been sold), the Princess saw an advance copy of the book and changed her mind.
According to royal biographer Howard Hodgson in his 2007 book Charles: The Main Who Will Be King, Diana was ‘horrified’ to find pictures of naked men juxtaposed with images of the royals and ‘knew it would not appeal to the more old-fashioned sensibilities of Prince Charles or his mother’.
Before the gala dinner, Diana released a statement which read: ‘I am extremely concerned that the book may cause offence to members of the Royal Family.
‘For this reason I have asked for my foreword to be withdrawn from the book and I will not attend the dinner on February 18, which is intended to mark the book’s launch.’
The feud between Diana and Elton was eventually resolved when their mutual friend Versace was assassinated.
Elton later claimed that the late Princess of Wales was the first person to call him after Versace’s death, apologising for their fallout. The pair were then pictured together at the Italian fashion designer’s funeral in July 1997.
The feud between Diana and Elton was eventually resolved when their mutual friend Versace was assassinated and they attended his funeral together in July 1997
Elton John performs an amended version of Candle In The Wind at Diana’s funeral on August 31, 1997
Elton John described Diana as his ‘very dear’ friend
But it would be the last time they saw each other as Diana would die in a car crash in Paris just a few weeks later.
At the funeral of the People’s Princess, Elton sang an amended version of Candle In The Wind.
‘You called out to your country and whispered to those in pain,’ he sang to the teary-eyed guests lining the pews and the millions worldwide who tuned in to watch the televised funeral.
Describing the tear-jerking performance in his bombshell memoir Spare, Prince Harry wrote: ‘[Elton] rose slowly, stiffly, as if he was one of the great kings buried for centuries beneath the abbey, suddenly roused back to life. He walked to the front, seated himself at a grand piano.
‘Is there anyone who doesn’t know that he sang Candle In The Wind, a version he’d reworked for Mummy? I can’t be sure the notes in my head are from that moment or from clips I’ve seen since. Possibly they’re vestiges of recurring nightmares.
‘But I do have one pure, indisputable memory of the song climaxing and my eyes starting to sting and tears nearly falling. Nearly.’
After the death of Diana, Elton went on to form close bond with her sons, attending both Prince William and Prince Harry’s weddings.
At Harry and Meghan’s wedding reception in 2018, Elton entertained guests with four songs, later praising them as a ‘great audience’.
Elton John smiles as Prince William and Kate Middleton leave Westminster Abbey after their wedding ceremony on April 29, 2011
Prince Harry greets his mother’s friend Elton John at the Royal Variety performance in 2015
Elton John pictured at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018
Prince Harry and Elton John attend the 2018 International AIDS conference in July 2018
Royal biographer Tina Brown wrote in her book, The Palace Papers, that Elton may have also been responsible for Meghan and Harry’s 100million (£80million) contract with Netflix.
Brown wrote that Elton’s husband David Furnish ‘had introduced Meghan to his connections’ at Netflix ‘to discuss an animated series and the prospects broadened from there’.
Unfortunately, Netflix cancelled Meghan’s show Pearl, which David was slated to produce, in a move to cut costs in May 2022.
Throughout the years, Elton has reportedly made an effort to speak to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ‘every day’ and is ‘very protective of them both’.
This was evident when he defended the royal couple from backlash after they used his private jet to travel with their son Archie, then three months, to the singer’s summer house in Nice, France.
The Rocket Man singer addressed the ‘distorted and malicious account’ of the Duke and Duchess’s holiday in the press, writing on X: ‘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.’
Harry and Meghan showed how grateful they were for Elton’s loyalty by recording a special video for his goodbye concert in 2023.
Elton John and Prince Harry embrace during the AIDS 2018 summit in Amsterdam. The singer Elton is reportedly ‘very protective’ of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Elton John cheerily greets Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the European premiere of The Lion King in July 2019
Elton John’s husband David Furnish (left) is said to have introduced Meghan to his connections at Netflix
‘Thank you for being the friend that you were to my mum,’ the Prince said in the touching video tribute.
‘Thank you for being our friend, thank you for being a friend to our kids and thank you for entertaining people right around the world. We love you.’
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