AT HOME WITH HUSBAND MARTIN, WHAM! SINGER SHIRLIE KEMP SHARES TOUCHING MEMORIES OF GEORGE MICHAEL ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 60TH BIRTHDAY

Filled with leafy trees and enchanting blooms, the grounds of the Hertfordshire home that Shirlie Kemp shares with her husband, Martin, are her pride and joy – but she still couldn’t believe it when they played host to the Princess of Wales earlier this year

- EMILY HORAN

“[We’ve] got the royal stamp of approval now,” says the singer as she’s joined by former Spandau Ballet star Martin, 61, for our exclusive photoshoot.

Recalling the royal visit, Shirlie, 61, explains that the couple’s son, Roman, 30, a radio host, is known for playing practical jokes, so she assumed he was kidding when he asked if he could invite Princess Kate to their house to shoot a video discussing her early years campaign, Shaping Us, in February.

“It turns out, he was serious!” Shirlie tells us. “I was so pleased and proud that the Princess of Wales came. She was so lovely and – oh my goodness – beautiful. What an incredible Queen she’s going to make.”

MILESTONE MISSED 

Today, however, Shirlie’s thoughts are on royalty of the musical kind: her dear friend and former Wham! bandmate George Michael, who would have turned 60 on June 25.

“If he was here, he would have had a huge party at his house,” says Shirlie, who went to the same school as George and fellow Wham! founding member Andrew Ridgeley before the trio’s friendship blossomed years later.

“George loved having parties, and I always loved the food and his amazing flower displays,” says Shirlie, who marked the poignant day by “opening champagne and celebrating.”