Inside Michael Jackson kids' close bond – grief, following his footsteps and new music

The late Michael Jackson’s three children share a bond like no other says his eldest son Prince Jackson.

With the siblings sprung into the spotlight from birth, they had no choice but to learn to lean on each other in times of need.

Their entire family structure was turned on its head when the King of Pop – who had full custody of Prince, Paris and Prince Jackson II (also known as Blanket), tragically passed away on June 25 2009.

After their father’s sudden death, the trio were sent to live with their grandmother Katherine after she was appointed their legal guardian by the courts.

Life wasn’t always easy for the two brothers and sister after they’d enjoyed a totally different lifestyle at the notorious Neverland – to later being raised by Katherine who was a strict Jehovah’s Witness on a ranch.

As Michael’s eldest son marks his 25th birthday today, Daily Star wanted to celebrate the special occasion with a glance into his loving relationship with his two siblings.

Before the Thriller star had passed away, Prince agreed with his father that he would take on the role of keeping the family together.

During a Good Morning Britain interview, the former Soundflowers music producer said: “When we were growing up, my father would say, ‘We could have nothing, but you look around in this room, your brother, your sister, and me, that’s all you’ll ever have.'”

He added: “And that always stuck with my siblings and I, and we have such a close relationship. Because I’m the oldest, my father would always tell me [that] I have to make sure that the group is taken care of and that I have to be the leader and lead by example.

Prince previously opened up about struggling with the loss of his dad, telling the Los Angeles Times: “I don’t think it’s anything you ever get over.

“It’s always going to be a part of your life that’s missing.”

Prince took a grief class in college and did jiu-jitsu, and admitted he and his siblings dealt with their grief in very different ways.

He added: “The way I cope with it is incorporating him into my life in every way — from my company logo having little bits of him [to] using his metaphors and trying to follow everything he taught us.

“My brother and my sister, we’ve all coped differently. I’ve gotten better the older I get.”

However, the challenge of taking on a father-like role at such a young age in a bid to replace his dad proved to be too much for Prince.

“But, after his passing, and us being thrown into the ‘real world’ my siblings honestly – they picked up the slack that I unfortunately left behind,” explained the eldest son of mother Debbie Rowe, the former wife of Jackson.

In February 1997 Michael and his then wife Debbie – who was married to the icon between 1996 and 1999 – announced the safe arrival of their son Prince.

Just over a year later, sister Paris was welcomed into the world in April, with their brother Blanket arriving in February 2002 – via as surrogate mother.

Continuing to provide further insight into their relationship, Prince explained on the ITV daytime show: “At this point in our lives, it doesn’t really feel like there’s that hierarchy of ‘I’m the older brother’.

“We’re all siblings and we’re kind of all on that same level where my sister has her strengths, and my brother has his strengths where I’m not as strong in certain areas. They compliment me in that way.”

Prince added that any time spent together is cherished even more so that they are older and have their own things going on.

He explained: “Any moment I get to spend with my siblings now, especially as we’re getting older and our own lives are starting to kind of blossom and grow,” he added. “Every moment that I get with them—any little family dinner, any little family outing—is really a special moment for me.”

While Prince and Paris do not usually take their relationship into the recording studio, last year they collaborated on Paris’ single Your Look which her older sibling produced.

“In the sense that I’ll handle the visuals and she’ll handle the music, I think I would love to do that again,” Prince commented.

Complimenting Paris, he said: “My sister has such a cinematic way of telling stories through her music and it’s so raw because it comes from a place of true emotion.

“And any time, as a creative person, when you get that type of intellectual property, you get that type of project, it just makes the process so much easier, and on top of it, because her and I have such a great personal relationship, it makes being on set that much more fun.”

Meanwhile, on an episode of the Red Table Talk Paris echoed Prince’s words, telling Willow Smith that she was “very close” with her brothers.

Last year, Paris even paid thanks to her older brother on social media with a special tribute post to mark his 24th birthday.

She lovingly said: “The greatest big brother and role model a girl could ever hope for … thanks for being my twin and my bestie, I love you for always til the sun is swallowed by darkness and even after.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk