George Michael was just 53 years old when he died suddenly in the early hours of Christmas Day 2016.
It was later found that the Careless Whisper singer had been suffering from heart disease and a fatty liver, both of which contributed to his death.
The troubled star had spent years trying to overcome drug abuse issues, and his longtime physician believes he knew his days were coming to an end.
According to medic Simeon Niel-Asher, George - whose story is being revisited in Channel 4 documentary George Michael: Outed - displayed classic signs of a man getting his affairs in order.
But far from being distressed, he said George had a 'sparkle in his eye' for the first time in a long time.
And though the superstar realised his health was fading badly, he still managed to share a joke about Elvis Presley in his final days.
Mr Niel-Asher, who treated George at his North London home just three weeks before he died, told how he believed the singer had accepted his mortality.
World-renowned osteopath Simeon, who treated George for 30 years, previously told The Mirror: "When I last saw him he was in good spirits. It was a beautiful last session.
"We had a really weird conversation, it was interesting and it was strange.
"Sometimes people know they are going to die and they get everything in order. I wonder if there was a bit of that going on, like he somehow knew.
"It was strange to think he might have known he was going to die or had some kind of inkling. That happens. Some people know they are going to die and I've seen it before.
"In many ways I thought he was waking up and I saw him coming alive again, maybe the last flash of the candle."
Despite the intense session, Simeon says they laughed and George didn't mind being teased about his increased weight.
Referring to Elvis' favourite snack, Simeon said: "He kind of reminded me a bit of Elvis before he died, you know? He got really big. I said to George, 'Have you got any peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?'
"What can I say? He was big but he was beautiful. In the last few months I saw this rebirth, this kind of optimism come back, this sparkle in his eye."
George planned a follow-up appointment with Simeon but died as the physician was preparing to fly back to London.
Simeon added: "I was waiting for a call to see him again. So his death hit me hard, I only found out on the news.
"We became good friends and it was a tremendous therapeutic relationship."
Initial toxicology tests on George were inconclusive. It has since emerged he died in bed at his Oxfordshire retreat of natural causes, with a fatty liver and heart disease.
He was found on Christmas Day by boyfriend Fadi Fawaz, 43.
Simeon – who treats a number of other celebrities – said George had come to rely on his techniques over the years.
The medic is an expert in treating frozen shoulder syndrome – the debilitating soreness and stiffness of the joint.
He met George in the 1980s after being introduced by mutual pal Martin Kemp, 55, of Spandeau Ballet fame. Simeon set up the Back Into Shape clinic just yards from George's home in Highgate.
He went on: "We hit it off from the first treatment. I started working with him when I was 27. He was a massive superstar and I was a lowly osteopath.
"It reminds me of The King's Speech when this man came in and he turned out to be the King of England.
"I was very close to him and loved the man very much."
George was so impressed by Simeon that in a testimonial for the medic's website he said: "I am delighted to recommend Simeon's work, he is the best of the best."
Simeon went on tour with George between 2006 and 2008, travelling to Europe, the US and Australia. The medic is listed as part of the tour's management and production.
He also spent time with the star in his studio and added: "He was working all the time, I saw him in the studio scrapping all these songs that were so good, he was a perfectionist."
Simeon revealed how over the years George feared his private life would affect his public image. He continued: "There are two George Michaels, you understand. There is George the superstar and there's George the person.
"He talked about George Michael in the third person, because he realised there was something bigger that he had to become, this mask. He was quite frightening as George Michael because he was very demanding, not like a diva, he absolutely knew what he wanted, absolutely.
"And if it wasn't exactly as he wanted he got angry. That was really the only time you saw him angry. He was always worried about how George the man would influence George the superstar."
Since his death, George's family friend Andros Georgiou has repeatedly spoken about the state of his health and insisted 'hard drugs' had been back in his life.
But Simeon said of the claims: "That was all wrong. He was struggling with addictions but it seemed he had come through most of it.
"It's a very complex and sad story, and it needs to be told properly."
Earlier this month, the love of George's life said the singer's body 'just gave up'.
American Kenny Goss, 58, told the Sunday Mirror: "I can't say for sure but I think his body just gave up. All these years, it was just weak."
*George Michael: Outed airs tonight and tomorrow at 9pm on Channel 4
