An Anglican priest lobbied to have Elton John perform “Candle in the Wind” at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, according to documents recently made public by The National Archives of the UK.
“This is a crucial point in the service and we would urge boldness,” Wesley Carr, the then-newly installed Dean of Westminster, wrote in a note to Lieut. Colonel Malcolm Ross at the Palace. “It is where the unexpected happens and something of the modern world that the princess represented.”
John and musical partner Bernie Taupin revised the lyrics to their 1974 ballad about Marilyn Monroe following the tragic death of Diana. Released as "Candle in the Wind 1997" and known as “Goodbye England’s Rose,” the song was a global hit, raised millions for charities and earned John a Grammy Award.
Carr, who officiated the funeral, suggested a performance by John would be “powerful” because he is “known to millions and his music was enjoyed by the princess.”
He wrote: “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.”
Carr noted that the new version of “Candle in the Wind” was “being widely played and sung throughout the nation in memorial to Diana. It is all the time on the radio.”
He suggested having John perform it at the funeral would be “imaginative and generous to the millions who are feeling personally bereaved: it is popular culture at its best.”
Carr said it would not be “a bad thing” for the song to be sentimental “given the national mood.”