"GOODBYE ENGLAND'S ROSE" - [Sir] Elton, live, funeral service, 9/9/97, meanspeed=60.9 bpm, meanemotion=sincerity

On September 9, 1997, with the whole world watching on live TV, Sir Elton John played "Candle In The Wind" with substituted lyrics called "Goodbye England's Rose" during the Anglican funeral service for the late Princess.

The frequencies for the song, the way Sir Elton played it at Westminster Abbey, a recording still available online and beyond, were:
mean speed/conceptual tempo=60.9 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to the meanspeed music conjecture =sincerity
average beat length=985 milliseconds
mean slow phase=1.015 cycles per second
corresponding pitch=519.68 Hertz 88 cents above B4=493.883 Hertz, 11 cents below C5=523.251 Hertz

This is the BBC account of the wedding, held 25 years ago today:

"1981: Charles and Diana marry

Crowds of 600,000 people filled the streets of London to catch a glimpse of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on their wedding day.

The couple were married at St Paul's Cathedral before an invited congregation of 3,500 and an estimated global TV audience of 750 million - making it the most popular programme ever broadcast.

Britons enjoyed a national holiday to mark the occasion.

Lady Diana, 20, arrived almost on time for the 1120 BST ceremony after making the journey from Clarence House in the Glass Coach with her father, Earl Spencer.

She made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the red-carpeted aisle with the sumptuous 25 ft (7.62 m) train of her Emmanuel designed, ivory taffeta and antique lace gown flowing behind her.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie led the traditional Church of England service, but he was assisted by clergymen from many denominations.

The bride's nerves showed briefly when she mixed up the Prince's names - calling him Philip Charles Arthur George, rather than Charles Philip.

Charles, 32, in the full dress uniform of a naval commander, slightly muddled his vows too, referring to "thy goods" rather than "my worldly goods".

After a brief private signing ceremony the Prince and Princess of Wales walked back down the aisle to the refrain of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.

Balcony embrace

The newlyweds took the open-topped state landau to Buckingham Palace where they emerged on the balcony at 1310 BST to give the crowds the kiss they had been longing to see.

Afterwards Charles and Diana retired from the public gaze to enjoy toasts and a wedding breakfast with 120 family guests.

A "just married" sign attached to the landau by Princes Andrew and Edward raised smiles as the married couple were driven over Westminster Bridge to get the train to Romsey in Hampshire to begin their honeymoon."

Here is how the BBC reported Dina Spencer's funeral, 25 years ago to the day:

"1997: Diana's funeral watched by millions
Britain and the world have said farewell to Diana, Princess of Wales, at the end of an unprecedented week of mourning.

A four mile procession brought her coffin to Westminster Abbey, where politicians and celebrities joined the Royal Family in a subdued congregation.

Over a million people lined the route of the funeral cortege to the abbey and along her final journey to the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire.

The day began at 0908 BST, when the coffin left Kensington Palace on a gun carriage.

Some of the crowd wept, some applauded quietly, but most watched in silence.

On top of the coffin was a poignant reminder that this woman loved by millions was also a mother - a card to "Mummy" from one of her sons.

The two princes, William and Harry, joined their father, grandfather and the princess's brother walking behind the coffin.


She was the very essence of compassion

Earl Spencer
Other members of the Royal Family watched the funeral cortege pass from the gates of Buckingham Palace.

The union jack on top of the palace was lowered to half mast for the first time ever.

Both Diana's sisters read tributes to her at the funeral service and Elton John played his re-worked version of Candle in the Wind.

Her brother, Lord Spencer, made a funeral address in which he described as Diana the "very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty".

He used the speech to blame the media for her death, calling her the "most hunted person of the modern age".

The grieving earl also pledged to protect William and Harry and prevent them suffering a similar fate.

The sometimes controversial oration was greeted with spontaneous applause.

A very public day of mourning ended with a private ceremony when Diana was finally buried on an island in the heart of her family estate at Althorp."



Best, from the heat-wave home of the 1986 World Champion New York Mets,
John Paul Newman
September 12, 2008