Prince AIDS Crisis — Star Relied On Prayer

Rock star Prince was diagnosed with AIDS six months before his death — but refused medical treatment, believing he could be cured by prayer!  Instead, the ravaged 5-foot-2 Grammy Award winner slowly wasted away to a skeletal 80 pounds — and even stopped eating — before dying all alone on April 21. In a blockbuster exclusive, friends told The National ENQUIRER the tragic inside story of the “Purple Rain” sensation’s final weeks and desperate fight for life.

Surprisingly, the devout Jehovah’s Witness shrugged off doctors who advised immediate treatment for the killer virus after the initial diagnosis, insiders said. “God can — and will — cure me,” the cocky star told friends. And while Prince, 57, managed to maintain appearances, a select few knew the end was near.

A music industry source interviewed by The ENQUIRER messaged friends on April 19 to claim Prince had full-blown AIDS. “He was in bad shape,” the source said. “Doctors told Prince his blood count was unusually low and that his body temperature had dropped dangerously below the normal 98.6 degrees to 94 degrees. He was totally iron-deficient, very weak and often disoriented. He rarely ate — and when he did, it all came right back up.”

According to the source, Prince contracted the virus in the 1990s, but was encouraged by members of his faith to ignore it and not take the medications prescribed for him. “They told Prince he’d have everlasting life, and believed he had been cured by faith,” the source said. “But the symptoms returned, and it was too late for medication. Prince expected to live through the summer, but his immune system was very weak.”

After getting the grim AIDS diagnosis, Prince hired two round-the-clock nurses and began planning his own funeral, The ENQUIRER has exclusively learned. The singer often said he’d put off writing his wild memoirs until he was “about to kick.” Sadly, he began penning his life story — to be titled "The Beautiful Ones" — just a month before he died.

He also discussed funeral plans with friends George Clinton of the band Parliament-Funkadelic and his “Under the Cherry Moon” co-star Jerome Benton, said the source. Prince told them he wanted the song “Sometime It Snows in April” played at his funeral, reported the source — indicating that Prince knew that he would die in April and in Minnesota. George and Jerome just laughed him off “because he looked to be in great shape,” the source said.

Sadly, Prince soon took a turn for the worse. “His face was yellowish, the skin on his neck was hanging off, and the tips of his fingers were a brownish-yellow color,” divulged the insider. On Wednesday, April 20 — just hours before he died — the doomed rocker was seen leaving a local Walgreens pharmacy. According to a source, Prince procured “HIV meds” at the store. A store staffer said he looked “pale and nervous.”

Another source said Prince was taking prescription opiates for AIDS-related pain and hip problems. His body was found in an elevator at his Paisley Park home/studio complex in Chanhassen, Minn., at about 9:43 a.m. on April 21. Following a 911 call, Carver County deputies and medical personnel reported that Prince was “unresponsive.” He was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.

True to form, Prince will continue to retain his mystique even in death. “The family is insisting the autopsy toxicology report be heavily censored to respect Prince’s privacy,’ ” an insider said — adding that he fears a cover-up in the final announcement on the cause of the legendary musician's death.