EXCLUSIVE: Godfather Breaks Silence About Jackson’s Kids
July 1 2009, Published 8:34 a.m. ET
The British godfather of Michael Jackson’s youngest son has exclusively told RadarOnline.com that the superstar would have wanted his mother and former long-time nanny Grace Rwaramba to raise his three children. British osteopath Mark Lester, 50, is godfather to Jackson’s youngest child Prince Michael II (Blanket) and had known the star for almost 30 years. Lester also opened up about Jackson’s reported drug use and that state the superstar was in during the weeks and months leading up to his death.
“I think he would have wanted his mother Katherine and Grace to raise his children. I have known Grace or around 10 years and she is a really lovely person who all three kids look upon as a mother figure,” he said. “Michael’s own mother has their best interests at heart and I was comforted to find-out that she currently has custody of them as they need to be around their family right now.”
The two men met in 1982 when Jackson’s manager set up a meeting at a London hotel. Jackson had been enthralled by Lester’s performance in the 1970’s film Oliver!
The former child star became Prince Michael II’s godfather in 2002 at a ceremony in Las Vegas while Jackson agreed to become godfather to his four kids Lucy, 17, Olivia, 14, Harriet, 15, and Felix, 10.
Lester spoke to Jackson the weekend before he died and was at the time assured of the singer’s outlook regarding his upcoming comeback tour. He was also on hand in March for the O2 Arena press launch for the tour.
“That’s what really disturbs me because he was so upbeat and positive it’s the best I have heard him sound in a long time,” Lester remembers. “I can’t comment on any drug use - all I know is that Michael was in really good form both the last time I saw him in March and when we spoke on the phone.”
“Michael was a doting father with his own kids and mine and he was really genuinely very kind,” he added about Jackson as a father. “Away from all the fame they are very normal kids who are extremely well educated and very bright and polite too. We are devastated about his death and all my children are in a state of shock because they loved spending time with him as he was such a sweet person.”
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As reports continue to allege that the star’s dermatologist Arnold Klein is the biological father of at least two of his children, Lester remains skeptical.
“Look, Michael Jackson is the father of those kids and I believe this guy Klein is just a chancer.”
