If you have been following the fictitious chronicle of the royal family in ‘The Crown,’ you would know the tumultuous marriage between Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In an interview with BBC, the Princess of Wales said referring to the closeness between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, “There were three of us in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” In this turbulent relationship, Diana found refuge from loneliness in her crush, George Michael.
James Gavin is all set to release a biography on the late pop icon’s life titled ‘George Michael: A Life.’ In the book, he will explore the life of the ‘Careless Whisper’ artist and most importantly his equation with Princess Diana. Before coming out of the closet, George Michael revealed that Princess Diana had a crush on him, and he used to lovingly call her “My darling.”
“Isn’t It A Shame He Doesn’t Like The Ladies?”: Princess Diana Was Smitten By George Michael
If you lived through the eighties, you would know how MTV became a melting pot for the pop-culture influence. The decade gave us a Cher comeback, and Madonna and Michael Jackson ruled the charts. Dynasty became the fervor of the 80s households. Along with the glam and glitz, the world saw the emergence of icons such as Princess Diana and George Michael. The singer ruled the U.K. charts in 1982, while Princess Dianna made headlines for her engagement to Prince Charles.
They crossed each other’s paths at the Live Aid concert held for fundraising to fight Ethiopia’s famine in 1985. At the concert, George, David Bowie, Prince, and Elton John were to perform along with George. When Diana saw Michael for the first time and found him very gorgeous.
In the book, Gavin wrote, “In attendance was England’s most distinguished rock-star groupie, Princess Diana. According to the Daily Mirror, Diana allowed that she found Michael ‘very gorgeous.’ Michael issued a public response: ‘Thank you, ma’am—you’re pretty smashing yourself.’ Thus began the awkward 12-year friendship between a smitten aristocrat and a closeted sex idol.”
The life of an artist and a royal member ensued loneliness–given the former’s hidden sexuality and the latter’s marriage of solitary. They grew so close that Michael called her “darling,” and gave her a gold watch.
“Obviously both of them enjoyed their gilded cages but felt trapped by them. The fact that she had his home number and was calling and chatting with him — that’s not a relationship you normally see with the royal family, where somebody’s secretary would call up the other person’s secretary and make a very formal meeting.” In ‘On Duty with the Queen,’ a royal aide wrote “Isn’t it a shame he doesn’t like the ladies?” This question was pertinent to the unaware Diana about Michael’s sexuality.
“Certain Things Made It Clear She Was Attracted To Me”: George Michael Expressed The Equation With Princess Diana
The relationship grew between the two, and the bond was cemented for life. Their age and the ladder to fame coincided which helped their relationship. To tell, there was nothing intimate, but intimacy is subjective. Diana and George’s relationship strengthened due to love, respect, and their distinct upbringing. In an interview, George Michael talked about their relationship.
He said, “She was very like a lot of women that have been attracted to me in my life because they see something non-threatening. Maybe because I take care of my sisters and I’m so protective of my sisters, women seem to smell that. So women who had a hard time growing up or feel that they were not… you know… when I was still sleeping with women my God it was absolutely all of the time.”
In the same interview, he was asked to describe the precedence of feelings to friendship. To this, he answered, “There were certain things that happened that made it clear she was very attracted to me. There was no question.” He added that the awareness of sleeping together would have been the disastrous thing to do saved the taint on the sacred friendship.
George felt a sense of loss in 1997 when Diana died in an unfortunate car crash. The space that she filled became vacant replacing the lifelong loneliness. He continued his loyalty to her and her family post her death. With lots of love, he reprised Stevie Wonders’ ‘You and I’ for Prince Williams and Kate Middleton’s wedding. The loyalty surpassed any other emotion for George Michael, who took his last breath in 2016.
James Gavin’s ‘George Michael: A Life’ will be available on June 28th, 2022.
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