Elton John says Prince Harry and Meghan's Royal Wedding "felt like progress"

When Elton John witnessed Prince Harry say ‘I do’ to Meghan Markle on May 19, it wasn’t his first Royal Wedding rodeo.

The pop icon, 71, attended the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s 1986 wedding, where he sat in the front row.

Every Royal Wedding is special - as is every wedding, full stop - but John says the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s was a particularly “wonderful” occasion to bear witness to.

“To have a black gospel choir, a multiracial bride, a black cellist, who was wonderful, a preacher — it felt like a party, and it felt like progress had been made. Thank God, thank God,” he tells CNN.

“To be at the first multiracial royal wedding in Britain — amazing.”

John, who performed three songs at the newlyweds’ reception following the Windsor Castle ceremony, sees the wedding as a “historic” moment for the British monarchy.

“You go back and watch The Crown… and in the 1950s Princess Margaret wasn't allowed to get married [to Group Captain Peter Townsend] because he was divorced,” he explains. 

(It’s good to know even close friends of the Royal Family can’t resist watching Netflix’s beloved royal drama.)

RELATED: 14 of the best moments from Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding

“Look how far we have come in that respect," John adds - a subtle nod to the fact Meghan, 36, is also a divorcee but wasn't barred from marrying into the monarchy on that basis.

Musing on the slow but sure progress the monarchy is making, the singer believes it can be largely attributed to one member of the family in particular.

"I think the Queen had a lot to do with it. I think she's been magnificent," he tells CNN.

John has been on friendly terms with the Royal Family for many years, but he was famously close with the late Princess Diana.

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After meeting in 1981, the pair formed a warm friendship that lasted right up until the Princess of Wales’ tragic death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

John performed at his friend’s funeral, and re-recorded his ballad Candle in the Wind in tribute to her life. 

"Me playing at the funeral was one of the most surreal things I have ever done,” he once told The Telegraph. 

“What was going through my mind was 'Don't sing a wrong note. Be stoic. Don't break down and just do it to the best you can possibly do it without showing any emotion whatsoever.”