Elton John has always had intimate relations with the royal family - and knows a lot of their closely guarded secrets.
The Rocket Man singer, who appeared at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in a pre-recorded performance, was famously very close friends with Princess Diana.
He first met Diana at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle in 1981, just before she married Prince Charles and they hit it off immediately.
During that party, Elton ended up dancing with the Queen while she was still holding onto her handbag.
In his 2019 book 'Me', Elton wrote: "Princess Anne asked me to dance with her to Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. Well, I say 'dance': I ended up just awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot, trying to make as little noise as I could so that I didn't drown out the music.
"Then the Queen appeared, carrying her handbag. She walked over and asked if she could join us.
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"So now I was trying to dance as inaudibly as possible with Princess Anne and the Queen — still holding her handbag — while what appeared to be the world's quietest disco played Bill Haley.
"I tried my best to come up with a facial expression that suggested this was a perfectly normal state of affairs."
The 75-year-old performed a tear-jerking rendition of Candle in the Wind at Diana's funeral in September 1997 and has remained close with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
The following year he was knighted by the Queen, who he once witnessed 'slapping' another member of the royal family.
At another party for Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle, Elton saw the Queen discipline Viscount Linley, who is her sister Princess Margaret's son.
The Queen asked Linley to look in on her younger sister after she had been taken ill, but he seemed to be having too much fun at the party.
Elton said: "When he repeatedly tried to fob her off, the Queen lightly slapped him across the face, saying 'Don't' — SLAP — 'argue' — SLAP — 'with' — SLAP — 'me' — SLAP — 'I' — SLAP — 'am' — SLAP — 'THE QUEEN!'
"That seemed to do the trick. As he left, she saw me staring at her, gave me a wink and walked off."
Elton was one of the biggest stars to perform at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Saturday night - but he wasn't actually there in person.
The Saturday Night's Alright singer wasn't able to sing live because he's touring all over Europe as part of his Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Tour.
Despite Sir Elton's lack of physical presence, his pre-recorded segment saw his instantly recognisable image projected on to iconic Buckingham Palace for his performance.
The lyrics of the song were also projected while a live orchestra accompanied the footage - and it was clearlt a hit with fans.
Elton wrote on Instagram that he was 'thrilled and honoured' to take part in the Jubilee festivities.
He penned: ''I was thrilled and honoured to be asked to be part of the Platinum Party at the Palace. I hope you enjoy the special performance, I can't wait for you to see it.''
Elton recently worried fans after he was snapped arriving at Leipzig Airport in Germany in a wheelchair last month.
The Video Killed The Radio Starconfessed that hewas 'in pain most of the time' after falling and hurting his hip last summer.
Then he was seen being wheeled out after performing part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
However, Elton reassured his fans he was perfectly fine and 'singing at his very best' as he thanked them for their messages of concern.
"The true story is that I’m in top health, loving my shows and playing and singing at my very best," he explained on Instagram.
"I give 100% every night and never want to disappoint, especially after everyone has waited so long to get back to seeing shows. Your response to every show has been phenomenal and I’m loving every minute of it."
Elton added: "After another rousing 2.5 hour show, we arrived at Leipzig airport just before curfew, to find part of the airport had closed.
"It was an extremely long walk to get to the plane, so my team kindly laid on a wheelchair so I could rest my hip after doing the show. That’s all folks."
He concluded his message by speaking about his concert in Bern, Germany.
"Last night was another blockbuster show in Bern and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at this weekend’s sold-out show in Milan," he concluded. "Thanks for all your kind words of support! Love, Elton."
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