The shock death of Diana, Princess of Wales' triggered an outpouring of grief and mourning that nobody could have possibly foreseen. An estimated 60 million bunches of flowers were left in Diana's memory at the likes of Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and her ancestral home, Althorp House.
Her funeral was held on September 6, 1997 - 25 years ago today - at Westminster Abbey in London. It was attended by members of the Royal Family, politicians and celebrities including Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and George Michael. Among the famous faces was singer Sir Elton John who had the difficult task of performing during the service. Diana's close friend ultimately chose to sing an adapted version of his hit song 'Candle in the Wind'.
He later spoke about the experience in his autobiography 'Me' and addressed his fears leading up to his tribute.
The singer explained his very specific fear and wrote: "It wasn’t suffering from stage fright. What if I went into autopilot and sang the wrong version?"
Elton John is famous for never wanting to use a teleprompter during his performances but ultimately felt that the pressure was too great for Diana's funeral and insisted upon having one.
Elton explained in his memoir: "Up until then, I’d been against their use. Partly because it seemed antithetical to rock and roll’s spontaneous spirit — I’m pretty sure Little Richard wasn’t reading off an Autocue when he recorded Long Tall Sally — and partly because I just thought: Come on, do your job properly.”
But even with the added insurance of the teleprompter, the fear still plagued Elton: “I’d performed Candle In The Wind hundreds of times. It wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that I might lose myself in the performance, forget about the teleprompter and start singing the original lyrics.”
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Elsewhere in his book, Elton revealed his thoughts on the treatment of Prince William and Prince Harry in the days that followed their mother's shock death.
He said: “I thought the way they were treated that day was absolutely inhuman. They were forced to walk through the streets of London behind their mother’s coffin, told to show no emotion and look straight ahead.
“It was a horrendous way to treat two kids who’d just lost their mum.”
The two princes clearly share this sentiment and have been open over the years about the decision to have them walk behind their mother's coffin.
In the documentary 'Diana, Our Mother' Prince William said: “There’s nothing like it in the world. There really isn’t. It’s like an earthquake has just run through the house and through your life and everything. Your mind is completely split. And it took me a while for it to actually sink in.”
Prince Harry added: “My mother had just died and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands watching me while millions more did on television. I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
Elton John's performance wasn't the only part of the funeral service that is well-remembered 25 years on. Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, gave a touching speech about his sister which many took people took as a veiled jab at the Royal Family.
He said of his sister: "Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty... Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic."
As he approached the end of his speech, he directly addressed his two nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry. He said: "She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys William and Harry from a similar fate and I do this here Diana on your behalf.
"We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair.
"And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned.
"We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them in their royal role but we, like you, recognise the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us.
" William and Harry, we all cared desperately for you today. We are all chewed up with the sadness at the loss of a woman who was not even our mother. How great your suffering is, we cannot even imagine."
