The King of Pop Michael Jackson has been laid to rest.

photos by Harrison Funk/The Jackson Family
More than two months after his death, Michael Jackson was entombed at a private ceremony before more than 200 family and friends Thursday night. The service was delayed more than an hour by his family's late arrival in a 31-vehicle motorcade at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.

Celebrities, including 77-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Motown Executive Suzanne De Passe who pushed Berry Gordy to see the Jackson Five, actor and writer of the Jackson Five's #1 song "Never Can Say Goodbye" Chifton Davis, Michael Jackson's first wife Lisa Marie Presley, Major League Baseball's Homerun King Barry Bonds, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Music Producer (including the best selling album ever MJ's "Thriller") Quincy Jones, Actor Macaulay Culkin (MJ's "Black and White" video star), Comedian Chris Tucker, and Civil Rights Leader/Radio Talk Show Host Rev. Al Sharpton. The late Michael Jackson's parents, a saddened mother Katherine and father Joe Jackson, pictured to your right.

They all waited in the dry Los Angeles summer heat for the outdoor service that was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. to begin, but began slightly before 9pm. The 31-vehicle Jackson motorcade was delayed. I can only imagine the grief prior to the final goodbye to your father, son, uncle, and brother, especially in the midst of the difficulty with that person being the biggest star in the world. Dealing with some of the heartless media outlets that used the 70-day mourning time for spewing negativity and failed attempts to bury MJ's legacy. Thank God for Michael Jackson's billions of fans that did not allow that to happen. Estimates of worldwide viewership of MJ's Memorial at the Staples Center weeks ago were between 1.2 and 2 billion people.

The Rev. Al Sharpton spoke at the ceremony (top picture), and Gladys Knight (one of early discoverers of the Jackson Five) performed two songs including "The Lord's Prayer". Just before 10 p.m. pacific time, Sharpton posted on his Twitter page that "Michael Jackson has been laid to rest."