Prince Harry & Elton John’s Friendship: What To Know

Elton John‘s bond with Prince Harry grew from the friendship he once shared with Princess Diana.

The “Cold Heart” singer’s relationship with the royal family started in the 1970s, when Princess Margaret invited him for dinner at Kensington Palace. Years later, he became friends with the Princess of Wales — though they had a falling-out before her death.

Their close relationship later evolved into John’s lasting connection with Harry.

Scroll down to learn more about their friendship.

In his autobiography Me, John revealed he had a falling-out with Diana after the royal princess withdrew from writing the foreword for the coffee-table book Rock and Royalty, the proceeds of which benefited the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

“I think Buckingham Palace didn’t like the idea of a member of the royal family having anything to do with a book that featured shots of naked guys with towels draped around them,” he wrote.

They repaired their friendship when they met again at Gianni Versace‘s funeral in July 1997 — but it was the last time John saw Diana alive.

After Diana died on August 31, 1997, following a car crash in Paris, France, John sang a new version of “Candle in the Wind” at his friend’s funeral. The track, which featured reworked lyrics by Bernie Taupin, spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Why would anyone want to listen to it?” he said of the song’s success. “It seemed unhealthy to me: morbid and unnatural. I really didn’t think it was what Diana would have wanted.”

In a 2018 entry for the Time 100, John revealed he first met the “extremely shy and sweet” Harry at a private lunch at Kensington Palace. He said they have bonded “over a passionate desire to end the global AIDS epidemic, a disease for which [Harry’s] mother did so much important early work to fight stigma and build awareness.”

The “I’m Still Standing” singer praised Harry for being “equally passionate” about reducing the stigma often associated with mental health problems and credited him with founding the Invictus Games.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation founder continued, “Prince Harry has that rare ability to walk into a room full of strangers and make everyone feel comfortable and at ease. As he has grown in maturity, I have watched him take on these causes with the remarkable skill to see and communicate how it truly feels for the people he is trying to help.”

That same year, John told Vanity Fair he and Harry “help each other.”

Then, in a March 2023 witness statement for the trial against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), John’s husband, David Furnish, described their relationship with Harry as “paternal and protective.”

“Elton and I were great friends with his mother, who we loved dearly, and when she passed, we wanted to do everything we could to give him safety and security, a space of confidence and protection,” he said. “It has deeply upset Elton and I that our intentions were used against us and that the confidence and trust Harry placed in us was exploited and abused by The Mail‘s callous activities.”

On May 19, 2018, John performed at Harry and Meghan Markle‘s lunchtime reception at St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle after the couple tied the knot in St. George’s Chapel earlier that day.

“Prince Harry asked Sir Elton to perform at the Reception which was hosted by Her Majesty The Queen at St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle. Sir Elton performed for the newly married couple in recognition of the close connection he has with Prince Harry and his family,” the palace said in a statement.

The “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” hitmaker affirmed his support for Harry by speaking out against the “malicious” press attention directed at his family after he hosted them at his home in Nice in 2019.

“I am deeply distressed by today’s distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private stay at my home in Nice last week,” he wrote on X. “Prince 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.”

He confirmed he and Furnish had provided the family with a private jet flight to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection” and said the flight was carbon neutral.

John continued, “I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis.”

He shared the same statement on Instagram.

In November 2022, Harry and Meghan recorded a special surprise message for John, which was played during his final performance at Dodger Stadium.

“Thank you for being the friend that you were for my mom,” Harry said at the time. “Thank you for being our friend. Thank you for being friend to our kids and thank you for entertaining people right around the world.”

John and Harry joined other claimants — including Furnish, Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley — in a major U.K. High Court privacy lawsuit against ANL, the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, in October 2022.

Nearly four years later, the group lost the case after reportedly failing to prove their allegations.

As OK! reported, Harry’s legal fees could total approximately $20 million, though a Page Six source claimed John might help ease the financial burden.

“The people funding the case will likely help Harry with costs,” one insider added. “Elton John could also well help Harry out. They’re extremely close.”

Per the source, Harry “definitely doesn’t have the money for it,” leaving his wife “likely be very furious about the fees. She did not want him to [pursue the case].”

However, no one may come to Harry’s aid.

Journalist Paula Froelich claimed John had closed the door on helping Harry with his mounting legal expenses.

“I am not an ATM,” an insider quoted John as saying, revealing he is furious at the royal for turning to him for support.

“Elton is really the only one out of that entire group who can afford to pay that bill. He’s a little tapped out right now,” the source claimed.

Before the expensive courtroom loss, a separate source told Froelich that Harry was “very hurt” after John said “no” when to his request for a donation to Invictus Birmingham.

“Elton is not a bank,” the source stated.