Sir Elton performs in Queen's palace

LONDON, UK (Radio 2) - Flamboyant singer Sir Elton John has become the first pop star to perform inside Buckingham Palace - but the Queen was not at home.

The performer was in the royal household on Friday to record a song for the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert on 3 June.

The star is unable to appear in person at the gig, to be held in the grounds of the palace, so instead a video of him singing will be shown on a giant screen.
He had been billed to appear alongside such artists as Sir Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin and Eric Clapton but he will now be on tour during the event.
A piano was brought into to the Blue Drawing Room especially for Sir Elton, whose hits include Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind and Your Song.
He also sang an adapted version of Candle in the Wind at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the song went on to break chart records.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have begun their tour of the UK to celebrate the Golden Jubilee year so were not at home during Sir Elton's performance.

A spokesman for the star said: "Elton was disappointed that he couldn't be at the concert on 3 June and he wanted to do something special.
"It's the first time ever that a pop star has performed at Buckingham Palace and he is delighted to be doing it."

Classical violinist Vanessa Mae has previously played inside Buckingham Palace as she entertained a conference of South East Asian businessman.

The two concerts will be held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace during the Golden Jubilee weekend, with thousands of lucky fans attending after applying for tickets by ballot.
Millions of people applied to attend one of the events but only 12,000 could fit into to each concert.

Giant screens will be erected outside the palace to allow people to join in outside the palace.