'Frail' Prince, 57, died at $10million estate from 'flu' after being spotted on several visits to Walgreen's pharmacy, just a week after he was rushed to hospital but told fans 'don't waste your prayers'
- Prince has died aged 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, six days after falling ill with 'severe flu'
- Paramedics and police were called to his suburban home at 9.43am EST and his publicist has confirmed he has died
- His cause of death is not known but a 911 dispatcher briefed an incoming paramedic: 'Male down, not breathing'
- He reportedly made several trips to a pharmacy in the last week and looked 'frail' as he stopped by Wednesday night
- Music icon appeared at a gig on Saturday and told fans: 'Wait a few days before you waste any prayers'
- Legendary singer and songwriter sold more than 100million records in his sparkling 40-year music career
- Prince was known for his sexually charged lyrics and was romantically linked to a number of male and female stars
- See more news on Prince’s tragic death at www.dailymail.co.uk/prince
Prince made several trips to a Walgreen's pharmacy in the days before his death and is said to have appeared more 'frail and nervous' than usual on a visit to the store last night.
The 57-year-old music icon was seen leaving the pharmacy near his $10million suburban estate in Minnesota at around 7pm last night in what was his fourth visit to the store this week, TMZ reported.
His visits to the drug store came just days after he was rushed to hospital from his private plane with severe flu symptoms.
Paramedics were called out to the music icon's $10million Paisley Park estate at 9.43am today and Carver County Sheriff's Department confirmed that there had been a fatality.
Prince's publicist later confirmed he had died. His cause of death is not known, but in a call to paramedic on the way to Prince's home, a 911 dispatcher said: 'Male down, not breathing.'
Prince - full name Prince Rogers Nelson - was rushed to hospital six days ago with flu symptoms after his private plane made an emergency landing.
The singer, who was known for his sexually charged lyrics and electric performances, made a final public appearance at a show on Sunday, where he did not sing, but said: 'Wait a few days before you waste any prayers'
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Prince (pictured in 2014) has died aged 57 at his estate in Minnesota, just days after he was rushed to hospital from his private plane with severe flu
Paramedics were called to his Paisley Park studio (pictured) at 9.43 this morning and the music icon's death has now been confirmed
Prince made a surprise appearance at a dance party in Minnesota on Saturday, in what is believed to have been his final public appearance
The superstar musician combined rock, R&B, soul and hip-hop to create a unique sound that led to him selling more than 100million records during his 40-year career
Riding on: Prince was seen riding a bicycle outside his estate in this picture posed on Instagram on Sunday
He was aboard his private flight when he fell ill, forcing it to make an unscheduled landing in Illinois on Friday morning.
TMZ reported that the seven-time Grammy award winning singer's plane diverted to Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois, to make the emergency landing.
He had had been suffering from flu for a number of weeks and was believed to be recovering, but took a turn for the worse in the early hours of Friday.
Prince, who was a Jehovah's Witness and a vegan, was treated for three hours before being released.
Initial reports on his condition painted a much graver pictures, with one source claiming at the time he was 'not doing well'.
The Purple Rain hitmaker had performed at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta on last Thursday night - the second of two back to back sold out shows - and had seemed fine during the concert.
Prince made what is believed to have been his final public appearance on Saturday at a dance party in Minnesota.
He was keen for people to have 'living proof' that he is still alive, and he arrived at the bash to show off his new guitar and piano.
He didn't sing, but he did tell the crowd: 'Wait a few days before you waste any prayers.'
A picture posted by a fan on Instagram appeared to show Prince riding a bicycle outside his estate on Sunday.
Prince was known for his sexually charged lyrics and was romantically linked to a number of male and female stars, including Madonna, Sinead O'Connor, Kim Basinger, Kylie Minogue Carmen Electra and Boy George, among a number of other people.
A 12-inch single, Scandalous Sex Suite, included vocals from Kim Basinger and moans heard on the track were rumored to be recordings of the pair having sex.
Last year Boy George claimed he had slept with Prince.
During filming of The Voice in the UK, he made light of Paloma Faith saying she had performed live with Prince.
'Forget that, darling, I've slept with Prince,' he replied.
Prince also slept with close friend and collaborating artist Sheila E while he was in a relationship with Susannah Melvoin, the twin sister of Wendy Melvoin who was in his band, The Revolution.
Prince married backup dance Mayte Garcia on Valentine's Day in 1996. He dedicated the song The Most Beautiful Girl in the World to her two years earlier. They split in 2000.
Garcia looked exhausted and emotional today as she made a phone call at her home in Los Angeles, just hours after learning of her ex-husband's death.
Prince went on to marry Manuela Testolini in 2001, but they divorced in 2006.
He then dated Bria Valente until around 2010, after which time they were still recording music together.
Prince (pictured in 2004 with his second wife Manuela Testolini) married twice and was romantically linked to a number stars
Prince married backup dance Mayte Garcia (pictured together in 1999) on Valentine's Day in 1996. He dedicated the song the Most Beautiful Girl in the World to her two years earlier
Grieving: Garcia looked exhausted and emotional today as she made a phone call at her home in Los Angeles, just hours after learning of her ex-husband's death
Prince also slept with close friend and collaborating artist Sheila E (pictured singing together) while he was in a relationship with Susannah Melvoin, the twin sister of Wendy Melvoin who was in his band, The Revolution
Prince then dated Bria Valente (pictured together at a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game in 2008) until around 2010, after which time they were still recording music together.
The Purple Rain hitmaker had performed at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta on last Thursday night - the second of two back to back sold out shows - and had seemed fine during the concert
The superstar musician combined rock, R&B, soul, disco and hip-hop to create a unique sound that led to him selling more than 100million records during his 40-year career.
Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1958 and started making music at the age of seven.
He first found fame in the late 1970s and over the next three decades became known as one of the most inventive and eccentric forces in American pop music.
He became even more famous with the release of the film Purple Rain in 1984, a seemingly autobiographical movie set in the club scene in his home town of Minneapolis.
The film was a huge success and the soundtrack album spent 24 weeks at the top of the charts and sold more than 13 million copies.
The legendary singer and songwriter is best known for hit songs such as Raspberry Beret and Little Red Corvette.
He was fiercely protective of his independence, battling his record company over control of his material and even his name.
In 1993, Prince legally changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol - also known as the Love Symbol. During that phase, he was referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. After changing his name back to Prince, he was sometimes called Prince would be referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.
Prince once wrote 'slave' on his face in protest at not owning his work and famously battled and then departed his label, Warner Bros, before returning a few years ago.
Prince, an intensely private person, sold more than 100 million records during his career, won seven Grammy awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004
Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1958 and started making music at the age of seven, launching his career in proper 10 years later
Prince, an intensely private person, sold more than 100 million records during his career, won seven Grammy awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
In 2007, he played the Super Bowl in one of the most celebrated such performances.
Prince's most recent album, HITnRUN: Phase Two was released in December 2015 and he was in the process of writing an untitled autobiography, which was due to be published in 2017.
'What's happening now is the position that I've always wanted to be in,' he said in 2014. 'I was just trying to get here.'
Tributes started pouring in almost immediately, with dozens of stars expressing their grief following the death of the music ico
Boy George tweeted: 'Today is the worst day ever. Prince R.I.P I am crying!'
Joan Collins said: 'Shocked that @prince has died at only 57. Such a talent to have died so young.'
'Omg..... RIP Prince,' Demi Lovato tweeted.
'And just like that....the world lost a lot of magic,' tweeted Katy Perry.
Director Spike Lee said: 'I Miss My Brother. Prince Was A Funny Cat. Great Sense Of Humor.'
Retired basketball star Shaquille O'Neal wrote: 'R.I.P PRINCE, another icon gone too soon.'
Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe called Prince a 'genius' and 'poet', adding he was 'the greatest live act I ever saw'.
Lord Of the Rings star Elijah Wood thanked Prince 'for everything;. Can't even process this. There will never be another,' he added.
PRINCE'S JOURNEY: THE SEVEN-YEAR-OLD WITH A LOVE FOR MUSIC TO THE MULTIMILLIONAIRE MUSIC LEGEND
Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was attracted to music from an early age, learning to play instruments and writing his first song at the age of seven.
As a teenager he joined the funk group 94 East, which had been formed by Willie Pepe, the husband of his cousin. The band gained a local following but was forced to disband in early 1979 due to the success of Prince's breakthrough album, called Prince.
That album came one year after his debut album, For You, on which Prince did all the singing and played all the instruments, which included guitars, basses, synths, bongos, congas, finger cymbals, wind chimes, orchestral bells, and woodblocks, to name just a few.
'Prince', which would eventually go platinum, spawned the hit single I Wanna Be Your Lover.
He released an album a year for the next three years, starting with Dirty Mind (certified gold), Controversy (certified platinum) and what would be his biggest album to date in 1982, named 1999.
That album, which went 4x platinum, contained three of Prince's most well-known songs including the title track, Delirious, and one of his signature singles, Little Red Corvette, which despite its undying popularity over the past 30 years never charted higher than number 6 in the US charts.
His next album took two years to make but would become his masterpiece, a work that is widely considered by music critics and fans alike to be one of the greatest albums of all time - Purple Rain.
That album, released in 1984, also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same title released that year by the singer.
Prince brought in a number of artists to sing and play on the album, which eventually went 13x platinum and contained two songs that topped the charts in the US, Let's Go Crazy and When Doves Cry. Those were in addition to the title track and I Would Die 4 U, two more songs many associate with the artist.
The next eight years marked one of the most fruitful times in Prince's career with the release of one album every year; Around the World in a Day (2 x platinum), Parade (platinum), Sign o' the Times (platinum), Lovesexy (gold), Batman (2 x platinum), Graffiti Bridge (gold), Diamonds and Pearls (2 x platinum) and Love Symbol Album (platinum).
Those albums contained singles including Kiss and Batdance from the 1989 film Batman, and Cream which all topped the charts, as well as Raspberry Beret, Diamonds and Pearls, and the Sheen Easton duet U Got the Look.
Prince went on to release 23 more albums in the past 21 years, though none reached the success of his work in the 1980s as he adopted a more experimental sound with his work.
The one exception to that was his 2004 work Musicology, which went 2 x platinum and won Prince two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Male.
He released his final two albums last year - HITnRUN Phase One in September and HITnRUN Phase Two in December.
In addition to his financial success thanks to his sales, he also enjoyed much critical success, especially in the early years of his career.
He won seven Grammy Awards over the years, with his last win coming in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2008 for his song Future Baby Mama.
He was nominated an impressive 32 times for music's biggest prize, with Purple Rain and Sign O' the Times getting Album of the Year nods and the singer also landing a Song of the Year nomination for writing one of the most popular songs of all time, the Sinead O'Connor ballad Nothing Compaes 2 U.
He also won the Best Original Song Oscar at the 1985 Academy Awards for Purple Rain.
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