Princess Diana nearly accidentally outed George Michael to a young Prince Harry

Princess Diana came close to accidentally revealing that George Michael is gay before he publicly came out, according to a former royal aide’s autobiography.

In Dickie Arbiter’s autobiography ‘On Duty With The Queen’, he says that Diana, whilst talking about Michael, told a guest at a reception in 1992: “Isn’t it a shame he doesn’t like the ladies?”

Apparently she didn’t realise that her son Harry was close by, then eight years old, and when he asked who they were discussing, she said: “Shut up, Harry.”

George Michael came out publicly in 1998, six years later.

Arbiter was a press secretary for the Queen from 1998-2010, and also worked for the Prince and Princess of Wales for five years.

George Michael had another brush with death last year, after he fell of out his car while travelling on the M1 and was airlifted to hospital with a head injury.

Earlier this year, Michael was admitted to hospital after collapsing at home.

• Nov 29 2023

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