When Is Prince's Funeral Taking Place? — UPDATE

On Thursday, the world reeled when the news broke that much-loved singer Prince has passed away. Prince was found in his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota and as yet, his cause of death remains unknown. In the meantime, mourning fans might be wondering when is Prince's funeral? This remains as yet unconfirmed, but a family source has already revealed that members of the family are flying in from all corners of the country to meet together to discuss the preparations for the funeral. It looks depressingly likely that the funeral will be accompanied by controversy, with Westboro Baptist Church tweeting encouragement to their followers to go and picket the funeral, citing Prince's crossdressing and divorce as a reason to do so. Update: Midwest Medical Exam revealed that Prince's autopsy was completed on Friday, April 22, and his body was released to the family.

Earlier: Minnesota authorities visited Prince's Paisley Park estate on Thursday morning to investigate the death of a "midde-aged" man, who turned out to be Prince. This happened just days after Prince's private jet was forced to make an unscheduled landing and Prince was rushed to a nearby hospital. There's been no official confirmation so far of when the funeral will take place, which given Westboro's attempt at involvement, seems smart. However, the high level of mourning, tributes, and monuments that is taking place all over the world at the moment offer some clues.

Given the level of public focus, I'd estimate that the funeral will take place early next week. I'd assume it'll be a strictly invite-only affair, with a separate, public memorial service to allow fans to commemorate their hero. Even if it isn't public, whether to allow the family to grieve in silence or to avoid any sort of contact with Westboro Baptist Church, fans have already taken it upon themselves to remember Prince in a variety of beautiful ways, all of which form an ongoing memorial ceremony in and of themselves. Whatever the family settles on, I'm sure no expense or effort will be spared to celebrate the unbelievable life of this music icon.