Michael's former lover to be involved in his funeral

London: George Michael's former love Kenny Goss has been invited to take part in the singer's funeral by the bereaved family, says a source.

The couple were together between 1996 and 2009. It is being said that Michael's father Kyriacos Panayiotou wants Goss to be part of the singer's memorial as a "public acceptance" of Michael's sexuality, mirror.co.uk.

"It is not acceptable in our community to be homosexual and so that was very hard for George's father, but we accepted George as he was," a source told the Sun newspaper.

"George was a hero for our community, and the Greek radio stations are expected to play the funeral in its entirety. We are all waiting for the word and will be lining the streets to pay our respects."

Michael's post-mortem came back as inconclusive. So, the coroner will be looking into toxicology tests - the results of which may not return for several weeks. This means his funeral could be delayed until February or even early March - something Panayiotou is hoping to avoid.

"He has chosen all the funeral details and pall bearers - some are coming from Cyprus," the source said.

"But it cannot go ahead until the body is released. That is a real source of pain for the family."-Agency