All Michael Kennedy's surviving brothers and sisters have attended his funeral in a Cape Cod church.

Kennedy's body arrived on a hearse in a mahogany casket as three buses brought more than 100 family members.

The latest of the Kennedy clan to meet an early death was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado on New Year's Eve.

Our Lady of Victory Church, Centerville, the funeral venue

His sisters and brothers gave Bible readings and eulogies during the service at at Our Lady of Victoria Church.

Other mourners included the New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Senator John Kerry, actress Glenn Close and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is married to Maria Shriver, Kennedy's cousin.

Kennedy family friend Evans Arnold pays tribute (15")

President Bill Clinton was represented by the US Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, also a friend of the Kennedys.

The full Communion was followed by "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," sung by a Baptist choir.

Kennedy was being buried in Brookline, near his brother David, who died of a drug overdose in 1984.

Cardinal Bernard Law of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston met privately with the family for about 10 minutes before the wake.

The casket is carried in

"They're very strong, they're very united, they're very supported by one another," he said.

Witnesses to Kennedy's accident said he had been playing with a football while skiing and carrying a video camera when he crashed into a tree, suffering massive head and neck injuries.

His death came at the end of a year in which his fortunes had dramatically turned. It had started with speculation that he could run for political office.

But these hopes were ended when he was accused of having an affair with a teenage baby-sitter.

He sought treatment for alcohol and sex addiction and separated from Vicki, his wife of 16 years.
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©