Jackson’s children to attend memorial service

Michael Jackson's three children are expected to attend today's memorial service for the pop star at Los Angeles' Staples Center, scheduled to start at 10.30am local time (6.30pm BST). Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II will make their first public outing since their father's death on June 25. The children rarely ventured out while their father was alive, and when they did, Jackson would cover them up with shawls and scarves.

The children are likely to be accompanied by their grandmother Katherine, who is acting as their temporary legal guardian. A Jackson family lawyer, Brian Oxman, said the children had been coping with their grief thanks to the support of family members. "The kids are being looked after at the house in Encino by Katherine," Oxman told the Daily Telegraph. "Obviously this is a terrible time for all the children - their whole world has been turned upside down overnight."

Latest news on the content of the memorial is that Mariah Carey, Lionel Ritchie and Stevie Wonder will all perform. The 12-year-old Britain's Got Talent finalist Shaheen Jafargholi, who sang the Jackson 5 number Who's Lovin' You on the TV show, is also due to appear. Smokey Robinson, who first that song for the Miracles, is expected to be one of the speakers.

One person who will not be attending Jackson's memorial service is Debbie Rowe, the mother of the two eldest children. A lawyer for Rowe, who is reportedly applying for custody of the children, said in a statement: "The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy. Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

Other developments:

• Golden coffin: Jackson family members led by his parents Joe and Katherine attended a private ceremony this morning at the Forest Lawn cemetery before the singer's gold-plated coffin (pictured above) was driven to the Staples Center where it will take centre stage at the memorial service.

• Jackson's estate: Katherine Jackson has been stripped of control of her son's estate by a Los Angeles judge. Instead, two business associates who were named as co-administrators in his 2002 will - lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain – have been put in temporary charge of Jackson's assets until a hearing on August 3.

• Posthumous recordings: Michael Jackson was working on two albums at the time of his death, Billboard magazine reports. Jackson was making a pop album with songwriter Claude Kelly and R&B star Akon, as well as an instrumental album of classical music.

• Memorial no-shows: Elizabeth Taylor, the Oscar-winning actress and long-term friend of Jackson, will not be attending the memorial service because she "loved him too much". Taylor, who was asked to speak at the service, wrote on her Twitter page that she did not want to share her grief with millions of others. "I cannot be part of the public whoopla," she said.