The Wham! singer spoke to CNN and Piers Morgan in 2011 abbot the royal rejection. William, 8 at the time, and Mr Michael had a close connection due to the singer’s friendship with Princess Diana. Mr Michael died on December 25 2016, after he recorded a song for William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding.
Speaking to Mr Morgan, the Careless Whisper’s singer revealed he was at a party with Diana and Elton John in 1990.
Mr Michael said he was asked to sing at the Buckingham Palace party by a young William.
He said to Mr Morgan: William came up to us and said, ‘Would you sing a song and Uncle Elton play the piano?’ but I can’t bear singing in front of small crowds.
“I can’t believe I said no to the future king of England but I really was too embarrassed to sing in front of strangers.”
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Mr Michael said it was a “very awful thing to have to do” to the young Prince.
But the singer excused his behaviour and said the only two people he knew at the party were Diana and Mr John.
After the “excruciating” rejection, Mr Michael claimed William was very polite.
Also in 2011, Mr Michael took to Twitter and said he was “such a nice kid”, but added: “his little Xmas smile disappeared, but the only people I knew in the room were Diana and Elton!
“So I bloody said no to the future king of my country…oh the shame.”
In another 2011 interview with the Huffington Post, Mr Michael dished out more on his friendship with Diana.
Speaking fondly of the late Princess, he said: “I was invited to the Palace many, many times before I actually met with her because I was so afraid of the publicity if we did become friends.
“And when we did meet, I think we clicked in way that was a little bit intangible, and it probably had probably more to do with our upbringing than anything else.
“She was very like a lot of women that have been attracted to me in my life because they see something non-threatening.”
Recently a new mural was unveiled of Mr Michael near his London home to remember the Last Christmas singer.
William however has been in the news lately for revealing a “profound” moment which inspired his mental health work.
In an open letter to London’s Air Ambulance Charity, William spoke about his time with the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service, and said: “One of the first call outs I made was to a young man who had committed suicide; it was an incredibly tough day and had a profound effect on all of us.”
Later the Prince said: “Mental health matters just as much as our physical health, yet too often it is ignored, misunderstood and neglected.
“It is one of the biggest public health issues of today, impacting all aspects of society.
“It is simply wrong that 330,000 people in Britain lose their jobs each year due to mental health, or that one in 10 children has a diagnosable condition.”
