George Michael Snubbed 8-Year-Old Prince William at Christmas
There’s an anecdote from George Michael’s life that perfectly captures the singer’s complicated relationship with fame, vulnerability, and the British establishment. It involves an eight-year-old future king, a Christmas party, and a request that would haunt Michael for years.
The year was 1990. Princess Diana had invited George Michael to an intimate Christmas gathering at Kensington Palace. Elton John was there at the piano. It was the kind of evening that sounds like something out of a fairy tale.
Then little Prince William approached the singer with a request: Would George sing a song while Uncle Elton played the piano?
George Michael said no.
According to an interview with Piers Morgan years later, Michael recalled the moment with genuine regret. “The then eight-year-old prince approached him and asked to ‘Sing a song and uncle Elton plays the piano?'” writes biographer James Gavin in his biography of the singer.
“I can’t believe I said no to the future King of England,” Michael later admitted, “but it was really embarrassing to sing in front of strangers.”
The image is almost unbearable to contemplate – a small prince’s Christmas smile disappearing because one of the biggest pop stars in the world was too self-conscious to perform at a private party.
Michael called it “very terrible to do” and described the rejection as “unbearable” to inflict on the young prince. Here was a man who had performed for millions, who had dominated the charts for years, who couldn’t bring himself to sing in front of a child at Christmas.
His relationship with Princess Diana was complicated in other ways too. Biographer James Gavin noted that Michael believed Diana was romantically interested in him, though he was gay. He called her “my loved one” and gave her a gold watch, but he kept his distance, reportedly not wanting to “make her look like she was badged on one of the most sought after women.”
Perhaps seeking some form of redemption, Michael recorded a special wedding gift for William and Kate in 2011 – a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “You and I.” He offered it as a free download on his website, asking fans to donate to the couple’s wedding charities instead.
“He’s such a lovely man,” Michael told Morgan, correcting himself, “I think he was such a lovely kid, you know.”
George Michael died on Christmas Day, 2016. The season of that long-ago request for a song.
