George Michael has died aged 53

George Michael has died at the age of 53.

The singer “passed away peacefully at home” on Christmas Day, his publicist said in a statement.

According to the BBC, Thames Valley Police have confirmed that South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire shortly before 2pm on December 25.

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

In a statement, the ex-Wham star’s publicist said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period.

“The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage.”

Michael rose to fame in the 1980s as one half of a member of musical pop duo Wham!, before launching a solo career in 1987 with debut album Faith.

The ‘Fast Love’ singer, who was hospitalised with pneumonia in 2011 and has suffered a string of health issues in recent years, has sold an estimated 80 million records worldwide and scored seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Michael was outed in 1998 after being arrested for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public toilet in Los Angeles, California. The star notably went on to parody the incident in the music video for his single ‘Outside’, released later that year.

“I never had a moral problem with being gay”, Michael said in an interview with The Advocate in 1999. “I thought I had fallen in love with a woman a couple of times. Then I fell in love with a man, and realised that none of those things had been love.”

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