FANS mourning the death of Michael Jackson will have to wait for a public memorial to the pop singer after his family said his body would not go on show at his Neverland ranch in.
Fans must wait to mourn star as Diana Ross is named in will
FANS mourning the death of Michael Jackson will have to wait for a public memorial to the pop singer after his family said his body would not go on show at his Neverland ranch in.
Plans for an event where people can pay their respects to the late star who died a week ago today will be announced "soon", the family said.
The news comes as it was revealed that veteran singer Diana Ross, who was a close friend of Michael's, is named in the will as a potential guardian of his children, should the first choice of guardian - his mother - be unable to fulfil the role.
It had previously been suggested the tragic King of Pop's body could be taken to the Californian ranch following his death on June 25 at the age of 50.
A statement on behalf of the Jackson family said: "Contrary to previous news reports, the Jackson family is officially stating that there will be no public or private viewing at Neverland.
"Plans are under way regarding a public memorial for Michael Jackson, and we will announce those plans shortly."
Once a symbol of Michael Jackson's success and excesses, Neverland - the 2500-acre property in the hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country - became the site of a makeshift memorial after his death following a cardiac arrest.
Fans have been arriving at the ranch site from all over the globe.
Meanwhile, the battle over Jackson's legacy was set to continue after it emerged Jackson left his fortune to his three children and his mother.
Jackson's entire estate is left to a family trust, which means under US laws the exact details do not have to be made public.
But the will, made in July 2002, cuts out his former wife Debbie Rowe.
The family trust will provide for the children - aged between seven and 12 - and Jackson's 79-year-old mother Katherine.
It will also distribute some of Jackson's fortune to several charities a showbiz website reported.
The will also names his mother as the guardian of the children and singer Diana Ross as a successor trustee to Jackson's mother if necessary.
When the will was written, Jackson's estate was estimated at more than £300million.
But Jackson's death prompted a spike in his album sales, which were up to 422,000 in the US alone in the week to Sunday.
A judge ruled yesterday that Jackson's mother will retain limited control of 2000 items from Neverland until another hearing is held next Monday.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff called for a speedy compromise between attorneys for Mrs Jackson and the two co-executors of Michael Jackson's will, lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend.
"I would like the family to sit down and try to make this work so that we don't have a difficult time in court," the judge said.
Jackson had been booked to play 50 gigs at the O2 arena in London starting later this month.
The King of Pop's tour promoter Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live, said he hoped there could be tribute concerts to Jackson.
Michael had mystery girl, claims bodyguard
A BRITISH bodyguard to Michael Jackson claimed today the singer had a secret long-term girlfriend and fell victim to a series of unscrupulous private physicians.
Matt Fiddes, of Barnstaple, Devon, who met the pop star around 10 years ago through psychic Uri Geller, said there was "someone special" in Jackson's life, but refused to identify the mystery woman.
He said: "I'm not going to name who she is but I think the family were aware that there was someone special in his life who he loved and adored and had his ups and downs with.
"I don't know how long they'd been a couple. I know she's been with him for some time in different capacities but it's up to her if she wants it to come out or the family to speak about this very private information."
The 30-year-old martial arts expert blamed the singer's death on doctors who had supplied him with unnecessary medication.
He also described how he and Geller tried to hide drugs and syringes from Jackson.
Fiddes said: "I never witnessed him actually taking drugs.
"But I knew they were there and I confiscated packages, and Uri did too.
"Uri would scream at Michael, you know, intensely, to stop doing this but we were getting pushed out.
"The doctor had such an influence over Michael that we felt our efforts were falling on deaf ears.
"As far as I'm concerned they have Michael's blood on their hands, they know what they've done and there's people out there who could have helped but didn't do for financial reasons."
Fiddes recalled a 2003 trip to London when drugs would arrive at Jackson's hotel from the US.
He said: "I would go and check on him. He would be drowsy and out of it. He would not wake up until two or three in the afternoon."
Cherilyn Lee, 56, a nurse and nutrition specialist in California, said the singer had asked to be prescribed Diprivan, despite warnings it could have harmful side-effects.
Ms Lee said she received a call from a member of Jackson's staff four days before his death which made her fear that "somebody had given him (Jackson) something".
