Michael Jackson’s children Paris and Prince pay tribute to King of Pop by laying crown on casket
In this handout photo provided by Harrison Funk/The Jackson Family, Michael Jackson's casket rests during the funeral service held at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California September 3, 2009. Jackson was buried on Thursday, more than two months after he died of a drug overdose, marking the last stop for a superstar who spent most of his 50 years in the public gaze. The singer, whose enormous success with such albums as "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" was overshadowed in later years by his extravagant lifestyle and child molestation allegations, died on June 25 with a mix of prescription medications in his body.
GLENDALE, Calif. – Michael Jackson’s little girl stole hearts again at her father’s funeral.
Paris Jackson moved the crowd to tears Thursday night when she approached her father’s casket for the last time, carrying a bejeweled crown.
The 11-year-old wasn’t quite tall enough to place it atop a thick spray of white lilies covering the gleaming gold vessel that held the remains of the King of Pop.
So her older brother Prince Michael, 12, helped position it just right.
Much like Paris’ remarks at her father’s public memorial in July, the gesture was apparently spontaneous.
“I was told at the last minute by Randy [Jackson] that this was going to happen,” Pastor Lucious Smith told the Daily News.
“It was like an energy just came up. It was incredibly touching.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton said he told the children “they crowned their father for all eternity.”
The touching moment was among the details of the private, celebrity-filled gathering that were revealed Friday.
Smith, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena, told the Daily News he read Ecclesiastes 3:7 and reminded attendees that “we don’t know when our last day will be, and we need to love and treat each other right.”
Patriarch Joe Jackson and nephew Taj Jackson, 36, addressed the crowd of 250 mourners during the muggy outdoor service under a full moon tinged dark orange by wildfires in the distance.
Sharpton delivered the eulogy to guests – including Elizabeth Taylor in a wheelchair, Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, music moguls Quincy Jones and Berry Gordy and actors Macaulay Culkin, Corey Feldman and Chris Tucker.
Prince Michael Jackson departs Michael Jackson's funeral service held at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park on September 3, 2009 in Glendale, California. Michael Jackson, who died at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles June 25, 2009 is scheduled to be interred in the Great Mausoleum of the cemetery on Thursday evening.
“I talked about how it’s always harder traveling from east to west because you face a headwind,” Sharpton told The News.
“Michael, coming from Gary, Ind., always had to battle headwinds – face some accusation. But he landed well.”
Legendary singer Gladys Knight “sang her heart out” with a rendition of the hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” Sharpton said. Songwriter Clifton Davis sang The Jackson 5 song “Never Can Say Goodbye,” which he wrote for the group.
After the ceremony, the Jackson brothers carried Michael’s casket into The Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a statement from the family said.
As guests filed in, Michael’s grief-stricken mother wept openly, sources said.
One attendee said Katherine Jackson was so overcome by sorrow, she turned back when she was faced with her son’s final resting place.
Knight sang “Our Father” (The Lord’s Prayer) as Jackson’s body was committed to his high-security crypt in the mausoleum’s Holly Terrace section.
“Everyone was teary-eyed,” Sharpton said.
Afterward, some of the mourners gathered at the Pasadena restaurant Villa Sorriso for what TMZ called an “after-party.”
Music by Frank Sinatra and other Rat Pack members played all night and the classic “Casablanca” was projected onto the walls.
TMZ reported that cameras captured much of the dinner to be used in an A&E special and a DVD.
Sister LaToya Jackson asked fans Friday to donate to the charities that her brother supported.
“Michael has been called home to sing with the angels, I will miss him dearly,” she told “Access Hollywood.”
ndillon@nydailynews.com
loading...
loading...
Michael Jackson will create even more pandemonium in death than he did in life — his body will take center stage at Tuesday’s public memorial at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.
