Family and friends of Prince said a “loving goodbye” to the music icon on Saturday in a small private ceremony after his remains were cremated.
His publicist, Yvette Noel--Schure, said the celebration of his life included his “most beloved” family, friends and musicians. She said a musical celebration would be held at a future date.
The list of people who attended was not announced, but Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, and brother-in-law, Maurice Phillips, were seen on the grounds of Prince’s estate Paisley Park, as well as friends such as percussionist Sheila E. and bassist Larry Graham.
Photo: AFP
Some of the hundreds of fans who congregated at Paisley Park on Saturday got a memento of Prince. People emerged from the estate and handed out round purple boxes containing a color photograph of Prince and a black T-shirt with “3121” printed on it in white — the numbers were the title of a Prince album.
Prince was found unresponsive in an elevator on Thursday at Paisley Park, and an autopsy was done on Friday.
However, authorities have not released a cause of death and have said results could take days or weeks.
The publicist’s brief statement repeated that the cause of Prince’s death was unknown and said autopsy results would not be received for at least four weeks.
The statement said the “final storage” of Prince’s remains would be private.
“We ask for your blessings and prayers of comfort for his family and close friends at this time,” the statement said.
Prince was last seen alive by an acquaintance who dropped him off at Paisley Park at 8pm on Wednesday, according to Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson.
The Purple Rain star, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found by staff members who went to the compound in Chanhassen, about 32km outside Minneapolis, the next morning when they could not reach him by telephone.
Emergency crews who answered the 911 call could not revive Prince, the sheriff said.
Prince’s death came two weeks after he canceled concerts in Atlanta, Georgia, saying he was not feeling well. He played a pair of makeup shows on April 14 in that city, apologizing to the crowd shortly after coming on stage.
Early in the first show, he briefly disappeared from the stage without explanation. After about a minute he returned and apologized, saying he did not realize how emotional the songs could be.
He played the rest of the show without incident and performed three encores.
In the later show, he coughed a few times, though the show was again energetic.
Prince was slated to perform two shows last week at the Fox Theatre in St Louis, Missouri, but they were canceled because of health concerns.
Sheila E. has said that Prince had physical issues from performing, citing hip and knee problems that she said came from years of jumping off risers and stage speakers in heels.
However, she said she had not talked directly with him in several months.
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