Elton John Remarks on 'Very Sad' Passing of Queen Elizabeth II

Storyful

Elton John shared with fans at his Toronto show on September 8 that he was “very sad” about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, who died earlier that day.

The musician was performing at the Rogers Centre on Thursday evening on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

“I’ve been around her and she is fantastic,” Elton tells the crowd in this video. “And she led the country through some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace and decency and a genuine caring warmth. I’m 75. She’s been with me all my life, and I feel very sad that she won’t be with me anymore. But I’m glad she’s at peace and I’m glad she’s at rest. And she deserves it, she’s worked bloody hard. I send my love her family and her loved ones. She will be missed, but her spirit lives on, and we celebrate her life tonight with music, okay?”

Elton was knighted by the queen in 1998 for his contributions to music. Credit: Iesha Irene via Storyful

Video transcript

ELTON JOHN: I've been around her, and she was fantastic. And she led the country through some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace, decency, and a genuine caring warmth. I'm, you know, 75. She's been with me all my life. And I feel very sad that she won't be with me anymore. But I'm glad she's at peace. And I'm glad she's at rest. And she deserves it. She's worked bloody hard. I sent my love to her family and her loved ones. And she will be missed. But her spirit lives on. And we celebrate her life tonight with music, OK?

[CHEERING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I've been around her, and she was fantastic. And she led the country through some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace, decency, and a genuine caring warmth. I'm, you know, 75. She's been with me all my life. And I feel very sad that she won't be with me anymore. But I'm glad she's at peace. And I'm glad she's at rest. And she deserves it. She's worked bloody hard. I sent my love to her family and her loved ones. And she will be missed. But her spirit lives on. And we celebrate her life tonight with music, OK?

[CHEERING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]