Will Michael Jackson's children be "normal?"

Even Michael Jackson knew the masks and veils would have to come off one day, as The Associated Press described it.

But will his children ever be able to live the so-called "normal" life?

After a lifetime of hiding from the media glare at the insistence of their impossibly famous father, Jackson's children are front and center, according to the AP. Though their inevitable debut came a way no one could have predicted, those close to Jackson and the family say his three kids may be better prepared for the onslaught of attention than anyone could expect.

"They are going to grow up in the limelight," said Al Malnik, a former Jackson financial adviser and friend, "but I think because they way that Michael has brought them up and that they have the capacity to deal with it."

They are also — for now at least — being cared for by Katherine Jackson, who has raised a whole family in the public eye, the AP said.

A psychologist, Linda Papadopoulos, told The Daily Mirror that it's traumatic for any child to lose a parent - a hugely defining moment of their lives. In Michael Jackson's case, the children now not only lost their father, she said, but have to see his face in every newspaper and on every television channel around the world.

And then they learn every other significant person in their lives - their grandmother, nanny and the mother they hardly know - is fighting over them. All that can only make the trauma much more complicated and heartbreaking, Papadopoulos said.

The custody battle is going to be destabilising for them, when what they need most is stability, she said.

"When children lose one parent, they become very attached to the surviving one. They fear they will lose them too. This parental role is being filled by their grandmother Katherine, but with her being almost 80, this fear of yet another loss will be very real," she said.

Most children can just grieve for their loved-one privately. But these children don't have that luxury, Papadopoulos said.

"These kids have lived in the shadow of their father during his life and now they have to deal with their grief in the shadow of his death. Less time may be spent on working out how they are actually feeling than on trying to figure out what's going on around them," she said.

The lives of Michael Jackson's children never qualified as normal. They had no mother, wore masks to conceal their faces and traveled the world while being raised by one of the planet's most famous figures, according to the AP.

But by all accounts from those who have watched and been close to the children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris-Michael Katherine, 11, and Blanket (Prince Michael II), 7, are not only normal, but model children: unaffected by fame, sweet, polite and very smart.

"Those kids are exceptionally bright. They really have the capacity and understanding," said Malnik of Jackson's kids, who were home-schooled.

But, as the AP reports:

Whether they will retain those qualities following the death of their father, a potential custody fight and the enormous media scrutiny that they have been placed remains to be seen. Already, they have been on the covers of magazines and tabloids, their images endlessly replayed on television — ABC this week devoted an entire hour in prime-time to an expose on their lives.

Katherine Jackson, who Michael named as his choice of caretaker in case of his death, was named by a judge as the temporary guardian of Jackson's children, and they have been with her and the entire Jackson clan ever since his June 25 death. Their longtime nanny, Grace Rwaramba, has also been with the children, according to a source close to the family who is not authorized to speak for the family and requested anonymity.

While the Jackson family has long been perceived as dysfunctional — their battles have played out famously on the public stage — what struck many people at Jackson's memorial service on Tuesday was their display of unity.

Paris-Michael clutched grandmother Katherine during the service, while Prince Michael held onto his Aunt Janet as his sister made her tear-jerking testament of love about her father. Blanket hid behind a phalanx of Jacksons siblings onstage, and when Michael's brother Marlon broke down while addressing the Staples Center crowd, the entire Jackson family, including the children, embraced in one powerful group hug.

The public images of a Jackson family united in grief may help Katherine Jackson as she heads into Monday custodial hearing involving Mrs. Jackson and the biological mother of Jackson's two oldest children, Deborah Rowe. Rowe, who was previously married to Jackson, has not had a relationship with Prince or Paris-Michael, but since Jackson's death has expressed interest in raising not only her two biological children, but Blanket as well, to whom she has no relation (the mother of Blanket, born to a surrogate, has never been revealed).

It is unclear if a custody battle will develop. Rowe's attorney said she has not decided it she plans to seek custody, and people close to interactions with both camps, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said both sides have been gracious and cordial, not contentious.

Still, some have expressed concern that the Jackson's kids may suffer by being placed with their extended family. Michael's father Joe has been roundly criticized for promoting a record label on television in the days after his death, and Michael had long described him as physically and emotionally abusive. Katherine's age has led to questions about her ability to look after adolescent children.

Dr. Arnold Klein, Jackson's longtime dermatologist and friend, told "Larry King Live" on Wednesday night he feared that the performing family might turn Jacksons' kids into "The Jackson 3, their intelligence dancing away — because these children are bright."