Harry snubs Elton John after exposing tense clash on holiday and song refusal

10 January 2023 , 16:47

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Prince Harry and Sir Elton John have an incredibly close friendship - but the last night of their holiday was alright for fighting.

The Duke of Sussex has revealed details of a clash they had at the Rocket Man singer's French home in highly-anticipated autobiography Spare, which is out today.

Harry is hoping that the Royal Family don't mind that he's put all his grievances down in words, and 'sorry' seems to be the hardest word amongst the royals.

Thankfully, Harry has been able to turn to his celebrity friends in hard times, with the likes of Coldplay's Chris Martin and comedian James Corden getting a 'thank you' at the back of Spare.

Strangely there's no tribute to Elton, who gets a number of mentions in the book, with Harry revealing details of a holiday disagreement and a song refusal.

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Prince Harry and Sir Elton John are pals (Getty Images)

Elton was a close friend of Princess Diana, famously leaving everyone at her funeral in tears with a special rendition of Candle in the Wind in her honour in 1997.

The I'm Still Standing singer performed at Harry and Meghan's wedding reception in 2018 - and a year later the couple went to stay with him in France after confessing they were "losing it".

During their stay, Harry and Meghan went on a scooter ride with Elton's husband, David Furnish, and watched their boys fall in love with Archie.

Harry writes that he would often catch the former Watford FC chairman studying Archie's face - and knew it was because of his son's strong resemblance to Diana.

On the final night of their stay they were relaxing around the pool, with Elton offering cocktails, but they got into a tense disagreement.

Harry said he was congratulating Elton on finishing his memoir, Me, but the atmosphere soured when the Tiny Dancer singer revealed it was going to be serialised in the Daily Mail.

Elton John performing at Meghan and Harry's reception (Netflix)

In Spare, he writes: "He saw my face. He quickly looked away. 'Elton, how in the absolute...?"

The Duke asked Elton why he had chosen the newspaper which had "made your life miserable", to which he replied that he wanted people to read it.

Explaining it was a warm night and he'd already been sweating, Harry admits that beads of sweat were now dripping off his forehead during the awkward exchange.

The prince kept pushing the singer and reminded him of "specific lies" that had been printed, but realised that Elton had accepted "a cheque for a hundred thousand pounds".

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Harry adds: "He didn't have an answer. But I didn't push him. I loved him. I'll always love him. And I also didn't want to spoil the holiday."

Prince Harry and Sir Elton in Amsterdam in 2018 (Getty Images for EJAF)

Elton has remained close to both Diana's sons since her death, with the singer defending Harry and Meghan against "relentless and untrue assassinations on their characters" in 2019.

It came after criticisms the pair had used private jets, including one provided by Sir Elton to his villa in Nice, despite speaking out on environmental issues.

Elton revealed he had paid for a flight for them and their son Archie to "maintain a high level of much-needed protection" and offset the carbon omissions.

"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," the singer tweeted at the time.

"After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquillity of our home."

Elsewhere in the book, Harry reveals he asked Elton to sing Candle in the Wind for the anniversary of his mother's death.