Sir Elton John has spoken candidly about his dear friend Diana, Princess of Wales, in the upcoming ITV and HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.
In a teaser for the revealing special, Elton, 70, intimately discusses the royal’s charitable efforts — particularly, her campaign to promote HIV and AIDS awareness.
He recalled the moment she shook hands with a patient at Britain’s first Aids unit at London’s Middlesex Hospital in 1987 — it was in this moment that the royal quashed the idea for many that the virus could be passed by touch.
He said: “It was considered to be a gay disease and for someone who was within the Royal Family and who was a woman, and who was straight, to have someone care from the other side, was an incredible gift.”
WATCH: Elton John intimately discusses the ‘People’s Princess.’ Post continues…
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The singer-songwriter, who, of course, paid tribute to the late royal with the song “Candle in the Wind” in 1997, also said Prince Harry inherited his mother’s incredible ability to put people at ease.
“Look at her face. In every photo there’s a positive, wonderful smile,” he said as they flicked through archival photographs. “Also she had that incredible ability, which he [Harry] kind of inherited – and I told him that, and he said thanks very much – to make people feel at ease and make them feel that everything’s going to be all right.”
He added: “I haven’t experienced many people in my life who have that ability, but she could walk into a room of people and make them feel as if everything was great.”
Take a look at Diana’s ever-lasting legacy in the gallery below. Post continues…
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In anticipation of the premiere, the music icon shared a throwback photo showing himself and the ‘People’s Princess.’
“I share my memories of Princess Diana and her vital charity work tonight on #DianaOurMother, 9pm on @itv,” he captioned the touching photo. “As an AIDS activist, she changed so much for so many and will never be forgotten.”
The one-off feature, one of two authorised documentaries about the ‘People’s Princess’, will mark the 20th anniversary of her death. It will also include the personal and intimate reflections of her two sons and her friends and family as well as a series of never-seen-before images and footage.
Kensington Palace have already shared a series of images, ahead of the momentous interview.
“The Duke and Prince Harry are pleased to share 3 photographs from the personal photo album of the late Diana, Princess of Wales,” the palace captioned the images.
The film will also touch on what Diana was like as a mother, with Princes Harry and William describing her as a prankster who was “one of the naughtiest parents.”
“Our mother was a total kid, through and through,” Harry said. “Whenever someone asks to give me an example, all I can hear is her laugh in my head. It was pure happiness.”
He added: “One of her mottos to me was ‘Be as naughty as you want… Just don’t get caught!'”
Diana was pregnant with Harry in this image.
Harry recalls his mum encouraging him to love life and be naughty.
The Princes hope the revealing documentary will celebrate Diana’s legacy and share a side people may not know.
Harry 32, and William, 35, have never spoken at such lengths about their mother, until now.
William, now a parent himself, explained the unprecedented move.
“Twenty years on Harry and I felt it was an appropriate time to open up a bit more about our mother. We have never spoken so publicly about her and we felt this was the right time to do it,” he said.
William was just 15 and Harry only 12, when their beloved mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was tragically killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
She was just 36.
