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Michael Jackson’s children and parents have led the mourners at a private funeral service for the star.

Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Blanket arrived for the outdoor ceremony at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, as a piano played in the background.



They took their front-row seats alongside their grandparents Katherine and Joe Jackson as a convoy of more than 30 vehicles carrying other family members filed in.

A few minutes later, the hearse carrying Jackson’s body arrived, accompanied by four police officers on motorbikes.

The star’s brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy, each wearing a single white glove, acted as pallbearers as the coffin was placed in front of the mourners.

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At the beginning of the ceremony, Michael’s children placed a crown on their father’s coffin to signify the final resting place of the King of Pop.
The service, attended by around 200 family and close friends, was delayed by more than 90 minutes while guests awaited the arrival of the Jackson family.

Hollywood legend Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin and civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton were among the mourners.

Jackson’s former wife Lisa Marie Presley also attended. Debbie Rowe, his second wife and the mother of two of his children, was invited but it is unclear if she was present.

Sky’s US correspondent Robert Nisbet said the intimate service was in sharp contrast to the lavish tribute concert held 10 days after the singer’s death.

“The family were due to stage the funeral last Saturday, which would have been Jackson’s 51st birthday,” he said, “but his mother asked for a postponement because she wanted to make sure all the details were correct.”

The funeral invitation handed out to guests contained pictures of the singer alongside some of his words.

The Jackson family wrote on the invites: “We loved him, we laughed with him, we sang with him. We danced with him. But on this day, we celebrate him.”

While waiting for the Jacksons to arrive, Mr Sharpton posted a message on Twitter saying: “What MJ went through was so unfair, yet he succeeded. In the end, he was the biggest artist ever. He faced the headwinds but he made it.”

The service opened with a quote taken from Jackson’s book Dancing The Dream which read: “If you enter the world knowing you are loved and leave the world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.”

Songwriter Clifton Davis sang The Jackson 5 song “Never Can Say Goodbye,” which he wrote for the group.

Police cordoned off the area surrounding Forest Lawn after urging fans to stay away from the event.

Jackson was laid to rest in the Great Mausoleum at the cemetery, where scores of Hollywood legends are buried.

His casket was placed in a private area of the crypt that also houses the bodies of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.

The star’s sudden death was ruled a homicide last week.

see more: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Michael-Jackson-Funeral-Family-And-Friends-Pay-Tribute-To-Star-At-Private-Service/Article/200909115374721?lpos=Showbiz_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15374721_Michael_Jackson_Funeral:_Family_And_Friends_Pay_Tribute_To_Star_At_Private_Service