Elton John almost didn't perform at Princess Diana's funeral: Here's why

Elton John almost got stalled from performing at the funeral of his beloved friend, Princess Diana, years ago.

This is because he was not allowed to do so, by the British royal family who were not aboard with the idea. 

According to reports, the Dean of Westminster, the late Very Reverend Dr. Wesley Carr, sent a personal plea to Buckingham Palace in 1997, urging them to reconsider the 74-year-old “Rocketman” crooner’s musical number, according to newly released government letters to a senior member of the royal household.

“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,” Carr — who died in July 2017 — wrote in the documents, as revealed in a Sky News report on Thursday.

“I respectfully suggest that anything classical or choral (even a popular classic such as something by [Andrew] 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.”

Carr added at the time: “He has written new words to the tune which is being widely played and sung throughout the nation in memorial to 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 — only sung.”

Upon Diana's death, John performed  at her funeral proceedings that September, rewriting the song as Goodbye England’s Rose.