Prince Harry requested Sir Elton John to sing Candle in the Wind on the anniversary of Princess Diana's passing, but the singer turned him down, as revealed in Harry's memoir, Spare. Instead, Sir Elton opted to perform Your Song, deeming Candle in the Wind too "macabre" for the occasion. Sir Elton, a close friend of Diana's, had previously performed a revised version of Candle in the Wind at her funeral on 6 September 1997. The song, originally written in 1973 as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe,