Sharon disregards father's dying wish

Monday, July 30, 2007
Sharon Osbourne has fuelled a huge family dispute after shockingly disregarding her father's dying wish.

The X Factor star's father, music mogul Don Arden, always wanted that he should be buried in a plot next to beloved wife Hope at a small country churchyard in Surrey. But, Sharon ordered that he should be laid to rest near his mother Sarah in an austere, concreted Manchester cemetery.

"Don always insisted he was to be put next to Hope when he died. It was something he made a real point of to all the family, including Sharon. He loved his wife dearly and was adamant he'd end up beside her in Surrey forever. But his wishes have just been cast aside, and everyone's blaming Sharon," the News of the World quoted a close family friend, as saying.

Sharon had become estranged from her father for a number of years after marrying Ozzy Osbourne, but the pair reconciled in 2002 after Arden developed Alzheimer's disease. The friend added that this strange step showed that Sharon still nurtured a feeling of resentment against her father.

"No one can understand why Sharon did this. She knew how much it meant to her dad. Their long-running row was meant to have been healed five years ago but this just shows she still holds a grudge. Other members of the family aren't happy about this at all," the family friend said. "And on top of all that she didn't even turn up to the funeral. She was said to be too distressed. But she managed to hold herself together enough to make sure her dad was buried in the wrong place," the family friend added.

Arden, who launched the careers of bands like the Small Faces, Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath, died aged 81 in a Los Angeles nursing home on July 21.