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With the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death just days away -- the King of Pop passed away at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009 -- his mother, Katherine Jackson, opens up in a candid new interview about how she and her grandchildren continue to cope with their loss.
Jackson, 80, has full custody of her grandchildren Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8. She recently told UK's Mirror that all three take after their late father. "Paris has that lovely way, just like him, and I see his talent in her," the Jackson family matriarch says. "She's a good artist, she plays the piano and she wants to be an actress. Prince is serious about a lot of things. He wants to be a cameraman or produce movies. And Blanket is very playful, like Michael was."
The kids' grandmother goes on to say that understanding the superstar singer's death has been a "daily battle" for the three surviving children. She also says that granddaughter Paris made a shrine of her father's pictures in her bedroom.
Perhaps the gloomiest revelation is that the children, according to their grandmother, "don't have any friends." She adds, "They don't go to school; they have private lessons at home, but that will change in September when they are due to enroll at private college. But they have their cousins and aunts and uncles around them constantly, and that's helped them tremendously."
The publication of the interview comes just a a week and a half after Joe Jackson alarmed MJ fans around the world by accusing his wife of being to blame for their son's death. Katherine's spokesperson has since called the allegations "outrageous," and in her interview with Mirror, the Jackson matriarch says she still trying to figure out who caused her son's death -- "If I could see him (Michael) again, I would want to know one thing: 'Who did this to you?'"
In spite of the family's heartbreak, Jackson says her son's death "brought us closer and I want us to be even closer still. I know Michael would have wanted that, too."
What do you think of Katherine Jackson's candid statements about her grandchildren? Chime in below!
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