More than two months after his death on June 25, Michael Jackson was finally laid to rest Thursday evening in L.A.
More than an hour after the funeral was scheduled to begin, the Jackson family arrived at the burial site just after dark in a row of black Rolls Royce Phantoms and made their way up to the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.
His three children — Prince, 12, Paris, 11, and Blanket, 7 — were in attendance along with sisters Janet and La Toya and his five brothers, who served as pallbearers. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy Jackson all wore suits with the late singer's signature black armband and sequined glove.
The service was attended by 200 family and close friends including Macaulay Culkin and girlfriend Mila Kunis, 77-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, Jackson's ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight, baseball star Barry Bonds, Chris Tucker, Al Sharpton, Kenny Ortega and Corey Feldman.
At the beginning of the ceremony, which was held outdoors, his kids placed a crown on their father's coffin to signify the final resting place of the King of Pop, the family's rep tells Usmagazine.com in a statement.
Knight sang the gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow, and songwriter Clifton Davis sang the Jackson Five song "Never Can Say Goodbye."
Speakers, including Jackson's father Joe and Sharpton, addressed the crowd from the stage, which was adorned with six large bouquets of white lilies and white roses.
Following the ceremony, the Jackson brothers carried his casket into the mausoleum shortly before 10 p.m. EST.
"The Jackson Family wishes to once again thank all of Michael’s fans around the world for their generous outpouring of support during this terribly difficult time," their rep tells Us. "Their expressions of love for Michael and his music have sustained the Jackson Family."
Jackson died at the age of 50 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
