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| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: Nov 19, 2013, 11:17 PM IST
Michael Jackson was laid to rest today in a star studded ceremony at the exclusive Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park, ten weeks after his sudden demise, even as his loyal fans gathered outside holding up banners hailing the 'King of Pop'.
The pop legend was interred in a private ceremony which was attended by family and friends including Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, his ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley and former child star Macaulay Culkin among others.
Jackson was buried inside Forest Lawn's Great Mausoleum, an elaborate neo-classical building inspired by Genoa's famous Campo Santo, reported Los Angeles Times.
The Thriller hitmaker's gold-plated casket will be placed in a private section of the crypt that is also home to the final resting places of famous names from Hollywood's golden age such as Clark Gable, Walt Disney, Humphrey Bogart and Nat King Cole.
Security was tight at the service, with police setting up a wide perimeter around the park, but fans collected near the barricades with flowers and banners in memory of their idol.
Two overzealous fans who attempted to gatecrash the event were swiftly apprehended by security guards and then removed by police.
By late afternoon Thursday, media tents had also cropped up all along the boulevard across the gates that serve as the main entrance to Forest Lawn, but security helicopters hovered above to make sure that no one got in uninvited.
It took over two months for Jackson to be buried due to a reported disagreement among his family members over a suitable burial place amid fears that overzealous fans may try to dig Jackson's coffin.
The legendary hitmaker who died on June 25 at the age of 50 was earlier remembered at a family funeral and at a star-studded public memorial service at the Staples Center.
The ceremony was attended by Jackson's family, including his mother Katherine and father Joe, his siblings, and his three children Prince Michael, Paris, and Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket.
Jackson's death, that occurred due to drug overdose, has now been officially ruled as homicide by prosecutors after weeks of investigation, with his personal physician Conrad Murray at the centre of the investigation.
The artiste had died a drug-induced death on June 25 at age 50, just days before he about to make a much hyped comeback with 50 shows in London.
The coroner's office has labelled the death a homicide, and Jackson's death certificate lists "injection by another" as the cause.
