Friends and family of Michael Jackson have paid their last respects to the singer known as the King of Pop at a funeral ceremony outside Los Angeles.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor, actor Macaulay Culkin and music producer Quincy Jones were among the 200 invited guests.

Gladys Knight sang at the service while civil rights campaigner the Reverend Al Sharpton was one of the speakers, the BBC reported.

The ceremony was due to begin at 0200 GMT at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park but began more than an hour late.

The delay was caused by the late arrival of the singer's family, who eventually arrived in a motorcade of 31 vehicles.

Jackson's brothers - Randy, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon - acted as pallbearers as his gold-plated coffin was removed from a hearse.

The singer's children - Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II - sat in the front row next to his parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson.

The service came more than two months after Jackson died of a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs at the age of 50.

Last week Jackson's death was ruled to be a homicide by the Los Angeles coroner.

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