Inside George Michael’s sister’s heartfelt battle to...

WITH gleaming Porsches and Aston Martins lining its immaculately manicured streets, the north London enclave of Highgate village is one of the most exclusive areas in Britain. Well-heeled residents include global music icons Sting and Harry Styles, while the Princess of Wales recently scouted £10,000-a-term Highgate School for Prince George. But amid the stunning properties served by the nearby artisanal bakeries and organic food stores, one stands out like a sore thumb — George Michael’s much-loved home.

Image Credit: The Sun [George Michael performing on stage during his Faith tour.]

Since the singer’s shock death in 2016, Oakhill Mansion has slumped into disrepair, its garden’s enormous trees and bushes now overgrown and unkempt. Yesterday the Grade II pile bought by George in 1987 as his solo career took off, was being propped up by scaffolding, while overflowing skips littered the driveway, as workers toil to turn around its fortunes. We used to see George around but no one seems to have been in the house for years. With all that money sloshing about, it’s strange that it’s taken so long to get around to sorting it out. Why has it taken so long?.

Image Credit: The Sun [Oak Hill House, George Michael's former Hampstead home.]

Neighbours are struggling to comprehend its downturn when the star left a £97.6million fortune. One local said: “We used to see George around but no one seems to have been in the house for years. With all that money sloshing about, it’s strange that it’s taken so long to get around to sorting it out. Why has it taken so long?”. The Careless Whisper star died aged 53 on Christmas Day 2016 as a result of heart and liver disease.

Image Credit: The Sun [Photo of George Michael with his family: father Jack, mother Lesley, and sisters Yioda and Melanie.]

But it was more than two years later, in May 2019, that court paperwork was issued, meaning his estate could finally be divided up. The bulk of it went to sisters Yioda and Melanie Panayiotou, while his dad, Kyriacos, known as Jack, was handed the use of the singer’s horse stud farm in Hertfordshire, where he had lived for years, “for so long as he wishes”. Paintings and artworks — including pieces by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin — plus his John Lennon piano went to the Mill Charitable Trust, which George set up in 2009 to give money away to other charities.

Image Credit: The Sun [Home renovation with scaffolding and construction materials.]

The remainder of the estate was to be sold then divided as trustees saw fit between his father, sisters and pals. They included Wham! bandmate Shirlie Kemp, model Kay Mayer, record producer and pal David Austin, former PA Michelle May, cousin Alex Georgiou, publicist Connie Filippo and family friend Sonia Bird. His goddaughters Harley Moon Kemp and Bluebell Halliwell – the daughter of backing singer Shirlie and of Spice Girl Geri — were also included.

Image Credit: The Sun [A person assessing a large tree near a house undergoing renovations.]

But notably, nothing was left for ex-lover Fadi Fawaz, 49, who discovered Michael’s body at his home in Goring-on-Thames. After George’s death he squatted at another of the singer’s London properties near Regent’s Park, refusing to give the £5million pile back to George’s family. In July 2019 he was arrested after reportedly standing on the roof topless. A few days earlier he had been in trouble for smashing up the house.

Image Credit: The Sun [George Michael's sister and friend entering a car with a police escort.]

However, former partner Kenny Goss did get some money despite not being named in the will. Kenny had asked for a £15,000-a-month payment but eventually settled for an undisclosed sum following a long-running feud. George’s portfolio of other homes around the world were sold for eye-watering profits, plus cash from royalties and publishing rights continue to pour into the family coffers every year.

Image Credit: The Sun [George Michael and his sister Melanie Panayiotou at a party.]

Over the past two years alone the music legend has raked in more than £30million in royalties. Exactly three years after George’s death, the star’s eldest sister Melanie, was found dead at her north London home the age of 59. Melanie, who had also been his hair and make-up artist, was later revealed to have left just £6.2million of her share of the inheritance. Her death was reportedly due to diabetic ketoacidosis. She was buried in Highgate Cemetery beside George and their mother Lesley who died of cancer in 1997.

Image Credit: The Sun [Sign indicating Oakhill House, Weeping Ash, and Kebony House are private.]

Managing the estate then fell to younger sister Yioda, 62, who now has control over his remaining fortune. Unmarried Yioda was one of the few people the singer continued to trust as he became ravaged by booze and substance abuse towards the end of his life. After their mother’s death, she moved in with George to help him come to terms with his grief. Thirty years later, Yioda was handed the keys to Oakhill Mansion but was soon struggling to manage it.

Image Credit: The Sun [Brick house on the riverbank.]

Now she has been given the green light by Camden Council for a swathe of repairs. Her team of architects BB Partnership submitted planning documents promising to transform it into a “habitable condition”. So the posh Highgate neighbourhood is forced to endure the shrill daily noise of building machinery which has churned up the muddy footpath sloping past the house. Armies of builders clad in high-vis jackets mill around the gated courtyard where owners of the adjoining luxury flats park their expensive cars. Yesterday neighbours complained that the eyesore is a blight on the affluent area.