Remembering Prince

Prince's alleged niece and grandniece are officially in the game ... filing documents they believe prove they ARE blood relation to his royal purpleness.

Turns out Prince's deceased half brother ... Duane Nelson Sr. had a daughter, Brianna ... and a granddaughter, Victoria. Both filed documents in Prince's probate claiming they are rightful heirs.

For evidence, they included Duane Sr.'s 1958 birth certificate ... which lists John Nelson as Duane's father -- same as Prince.

As we first reported ... an attorney alerted the court of Victoria's existence. Brianna, on the other hand, came outta left field.

Family sources tell us Tyka Nelson and the other established siblings have questioned whether Duane was actually blood. The new docs are a good start -- showing Duane's direct link to Prince -- but Victoria and Brianna will most likely have to submit to DNA testing as well ... to get a cut of the inheritance.

What would be the best part of your house if it was totally taken over and pimped out by Prince?

That's a question NBA star Carlos Boozer has the answer to ... 'cause he famously rented a house to the purple one back in the day ... a house Prince famously -- or infamously -- did a once over on.

Carlos ended up paying out the wazoo to restore the crib to a dwelling suited for normal human beings (rich ones) but we ask him ... what was the best part of the Prince cave?

He answered ... and we gotta say, it makes sense.

Prince could have died from a fatal mix of drugs, and cops are particularly interested to see if the singer had a combination of Percocet and the synthetic opiate Buprenorphine in his system.

Sources connected to the investigation tell us they do not know what killed Prince, because the medical examiner still does not have toxicology results. They are, however, very interested in why Prince's doctor and the son of a rehab doctor were both at the house when he died.

As we reported, Prince's doctor, Michael Schulenberg, told authorities he went to Prince's home to personally deliver test results. Andrew Kornfeld, the son of California rehab Dr. Howard Kornfeld, was also present and had Buprenorphine pills in his backpack. The pills are used to treat opiate addiction.

Andrew's lawyer held a news conference saying Andrew was not there to personally administer the drug, but he was there to deliver the pills to a local doctor. That's why cops think it might be more than coincidental Kornfeld and Dr. Schulenberg were there at the same time ... when Prince died.

As for the drugs ... medical experts say a combination of Percocet and Buprenorphine can be fatal because both drugs suppress breathing, and the combination creates a dangerous synergistic effect.

If the toxicology results show both drugs were in Prince's system and contributed to his death, Dr. Schulenberg and Andrew Kornfeld would be questioned again to determine if either of them gave Prince the Buprenorphine and what tests were done to determine the level of Percocet in his system.

We reached out to Dr. Schulenberg and Andrew Kornfeld ... so far no word back.

"Weird Al" Yankovic has some parodies of Prince hits stashed away in his vault, but they'll never see the light of day.

Prince had a storied history of refusing Weird Al's requests to rework his music, so when we got Al at LAX, we asked him if there was a chance he'd now get approval from Prince's family ... or even the estate.

Check out his reply -- you won't be hearing any knockoffs like "Little Red Fiat" or "Raspberry Toupée" ... but the reason why is what's really interesting.

Prince's siblings are now in a battle royale over how to market their late brother ... and make money in the process.

We've learned more than a dozen lawyers representing Prince's 6 siblings have been at each other's throats, competing for ways to get money for their clients ... and quickly.

Our sources say 3 and possibly 4 of the siblings and their lawyers have put together a TV package, with major music producers and famous artists who will perform Prince songs for a 2 hour TV special set to air in August.

The plan is to make the 6 siblings co-producers, which will give them enough money to tide them over as the bank running the estate figures out how to dole out the cash.

Here's the conflict. We're told Tyka and at least one other sibling is not on board ... she wants to produce her own special and control it.

The other siblings are enraged Tyka gets to live rent free in a house Prince owned ... a house on which the bank is still paying the mortgage and home-related expenses. The siblings feel they too should get comparable support, but they're getting nothing ... thus their idea for the TV special.

The rift between Prince's family and Prince's church did not affect his memorial service ... according to Sinbad, who was in attendance.

The comedian was coming back to L.A. after attending the Jehovah's Witness memorial in Minnesota -- and explained how he got the coveted invite.

As TMZ reported -- Prince's family refused to take part or send his remains to the service.

Sinbad scoffed at any attempts to "one-up" other memorials, but added that there's about to be a lot of feuding over all things Prince ... even though it's the last thing he would've wanted.

The Game is makin' it PURPLE rain in his living room ... thanks to a massive custom painting he commissioned in Prince's honor ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us Game hired artist Madsteez the day Prince died and asked him to create a tribute piece. The rapper -- who came thiiiis close to recording with Prince -- picked out a shot from "Purple Rain" as inspiration.

We're told Game dropped $65k on the artwork, which took Madsteez more than 100 hours to complete. The 8' x 6' portrait is a combination of oil, acrylic and spray paints -- and, as of Sunday, has been hanging proudly in Game's crib.

All the so-called "long lost" relatives of Prince should have to pay to prove they're truly the singer's blood ... according to the bank running his estate.

TMZ obtained docs filed by Bremer Trust Bank ... and it's asking a judge to sign off on getting anyone who's "claiming a genetic relationship" to fork over the dough to cover DNA testing costs.

As we've told you ... at least one man has come forward claiming he's Prince's son and says he's ready and willing to get genetic testing to prove it.

Prince's sister wants to make one thing clear ... she, nor anyone in Prince's family is connected to Sunday's memorial planned by his church -- and the family won't be participating.

Tyka Nelson says, "I nor my brother's remains will be present at any Memorial or Funeral services." Jehovah's Witnesses in Minnetonka, Minnesota -- where Prince worshiped -- announced a private service this weekend.

She went on to say in a Facebook post ... she supports all memorials because the grieving process is unique to everyone who was connected to Prince, but wanted fans to know this weekend's service is NOT the highly anticipated public tribute.

She said that will be coming some time in August, and took what seems like a dig at all other memorials, saying ... "We feel inspired to celebrate his life and legacy in just the right way."

Prince's ex-wives and nearly a hundred close friends showed up in Bev Hills Wednesday for a memorial ... after being shut out of the tribute his family held days after the singer died.

Manuela Testolini and Mayte Garcia were front and center, along with Gwen Stefani, Spike Lee, Eric Benet, Dita Von Teese, Larry King, Janelle Monae, Tony Kanal, Nile Rodgers, Herbie Hancock and Tavis Smiley.

The event was held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Most of the men had a white rose pinned to their black suits. And, of course ... lots of purple.

Prince's fortune is about to be spread even thinner because he has a long-lost relative -- according to a lawyer for Prince's deceased half brother.

The attorney filed documents, obtained by TMZ, with Prince's probate ... saying his former client, Duane Nelson, Sr. has a granddaughter somewhere in Minnesota.

Duane died in 2011, and his son -- who died in 2005 -- had a daughter who is now 11 years old.

The attorney, Mike Padden, says the court should vet the girl, and wants a guardian appointed to look out for her interests in the estate.

Duane -- who was Prince's bodyguard for a while -- was omitted from the list of siblings when Tyka Nelson began probate proceedings. We're told some family members don't buy he was a blood relative.

That was never proven, but you can bet DNA testing would be part of vetting the grandniece.

Stevie Wonder's got some advice for Prince fans trying to cope with his sudden death -- just do it.

We asked Stevie, at LAX on Wednesday, about the doctor at the center of the Prince investigation.

He's all for bringing someone to justice, but feels we should leave that to cops -- while fans focus on a much different ... much hotter, response to the tragic loss.

Watch the clip. Turns out Stevie's not just a musical genius.

A celebration for Prince is going down in Beverly Hills Wednesday night, but almost no one's heard about it ... unless you were a legit member of his inner circle.

A source who was VERY close to the singer tells TMZ they received an invitation that only mentioned the time, date, and city for the "Celebration of Life." The source was told to pass the word, but ONLY to the most important people his Purpleness would have wanted to attend.

One of Prince's family members says they didn't hear about it, so it appears this is exclusively for close friends and people in the biz. We're told the exact location is only being revealed to invitees who get vetted after RSVP'ing by email.

Bottom line: There are about to be some disappointed people who thought they were tight with Prince.

The floodgates have just opened ... a woman has filed a creditor's claim against Prince's estate, claiming the singer promised to richly reward her for providing the inspiration for one of his albums ... and she was involved in one of Prince's 911 emergencies.

Kimberly Felecia Potts claims in her legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Prince invited her to Paisley Park last year to officially reward her to the tune of $500,000 for creating the 2004 album, "Musicology."

Potts, who lives in Alabama, says Prince also wanted her to re-open the NPG Music Club -- a website launched back in 2001 but shut down in 2006.

We did some digging, and found back in January, cops responded to a 911 call for an intruder at Prince's estate, and found Potts at a side door. She told police Prince had called her for a job.

Prince got Percocet from one doctor, who always prescribed the drug under the singer's real name ... sources connected with the investigation tell TMZ.

Our sources say ... so far there is no evidence anyone other than Dr. Michael Schulenberg prescribed drugs for Prince. What's more ... we're told the doctor never wrote prescriptions using a name other than Prince Rogers Nelson.

This is in sharp contrast to Michael Jackson's drug abuse ... we broke the story MJ had scripts written by multiple doctors, and for at least 19 aliases.

Our sources caution there could be other doctors who prescribed meds for Prince outside the Minnesota area ... but so far nothing's come up.

It's an interesting turn, because the DEA monitors over-prescribing of drugs, yet we're told nothing had been flagged. It's evidence that Prince may have developed a sudden, life-threatening spike in opiate use, and it happened too quickly for the feds to notice.

The doctor who law enforcement is targeting in the Prince investigation abruptly left the facility where he practiced ... and no one will say why.

Dr. Michael Schulenberg was at Paisley Park when Prince died, and as we reported, authorities obtained a search warrant to seize the doctor's medical records and, more specifically, prescriptions he wrote for the singer.

As we previously reported, Dr. Schulenberg saw Prince on April 7th and April 20th -- the day before Prince died. He also wrote prescriptions for Prince that were to be filled at Walgreens ... the pharmacy Prince visited 4 times in the last 7 days of his life.

Turns out ... Dr. Schulenberg worked at North Memorial Physicians clinic in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The facility is 10 miles from Prince's estate. A rep from the facility told TMZ ... the doctor left "in the last few days" but would not say if he was terminated or just quit.

Before Dr. Schulenberg worked at North Memorial, we're told he practiced at Ridgeview Hospital and Prince's bodyguard told cops he took Prince to that hospital in 2014 and 2015.

Dr. Schulenberg has a clean record, and even got an MBA in addition to his MD.