Celine Dion has chosen not to sing at the funeral of her husband René Angélil , though one of her songs maybe played during the service.
Despite reports she was planning to perform a tribute to her husband of 21 years, a rep insisted to TMZ that it had never been an option for the star because she’s still in the throes of grief, though there is a chance a favourite track could be used during the ceremony.
René, 72, died on January 14 after a long battle with throat cancer.
A statement released at the time stated: “Rene Angelil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer.
“The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment.”
In line with his final wishes, René’s funeral will be held at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal where he and Celine married over two decades ago on January 22.According to PEOPLE, his obituary read:
“According to his final wishes, his funeral will be held at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, where 21 years ago, he chose to marry the one who will remain as the great love of his life, the artist for which he had the most respect, the woman who gave him light and happiness until his very last breath.”
A respected figure in Canada his funeral is expected to be televised nationally and flags will fly at half mast on the day he’s laid to rest.
René, who acted as a mentor and manager to Celine, had been battling throat cancer since 2013 and his family have encouraged donations to be made to a cancer charity.
The obituary continued: “The family invites all those who would like to make a contribution to make a donation to the Azar-Angelil Research Chair for ORL Cancer.
“The couple have 14-year-old son, René, and five-year-old fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson together while he also has three grown up children from a previous relationship – Anne-Marie, Patrick and Jean-Pierre.
His death came just two days before her brother Daniel lost his own battle with cancer at age just 59.
