FUNERAL GUEST LIST
Though Buckingham Palace will probably not release a guest list for Princess Diana's funeral, organizers are said to hope the 2,000 attendees will range from the celebrated to the obscure and reflect the Palace's goal of staging a "unique funeral for a unique person." First Lady Hillary Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will attend Saturday's ceremonies at Westminster Abbey. Former premiers, including John Major and Margaret Thatcher, have been invited -- as has a New Jersey couple who once hired Diana as a babysitter in London for their 1-year-old son before she entered the royal spotlight, New York's WCBS radio reports. Elton John, a close friend of the princess's, plans to be at the service but denied reports he had been invited to sing, saying that decision was still "up in the air."

JACKSON TRIBUTE
Michael Jackson dedicated a concert in Belgium Wednesday to Princess Diana, whose death prompted him to cancel his scheduled Sunday show. Minutes before the concert began in front of more than 60,000 people at Ostend racecourse, says Reuters, two 21-foot-high pictures of the princess wearing a tiara lit up on either side of the giant stage. The crowd applauded, held lighters above their heads and swayed to a recording of the pop star's "Smile." It is not known whether Jackson will attend Diana's funeral Saturday. He has another concert near Madrid that day.

A MODEL FRIENDSHIP
Cindy Crawford says she spoke with Diana the day before her death and that the princess said she was "immensely happy" with boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed. The supermodel told the Italian magazine Chi that Diana and Dodi had been dating since November. In their conversation Crawford said Diana had told her: "Dodi is a fantastic man, he fills me with attention and care, I feel once more loved." Crawford said she first met Diana when the princess set up a meeting between her and her older son, William, who had admitted to having a crush on Crawford.

DIANA'S RING
Dodi Al Fayed gave Princess Diana a $205,400 diamond friendship ring shortly before their fatal car crash, according to London tabloids. The diamond ring was found in the wrecked car following the crash early Sunday, says the Sun, which reports Al Fayed gave Diana the ring over dinner at the Ritz Hotel in Paris Saturday night. The stories quote Paris jeweler Alberto Repossi as saying Al Fayed asked him 10 days before the accident to create a one-of-a-kind ring for Diana. "He told me how much he was in love with the princess, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her," he said. The British national news agency Press Association said the ring is thought to have been handed to Diana's sisters when they went to France with Prince Charles to collect her body on Sunday.

PROCESSION EXPANDS
Buckingham Palace has added 2 1/2 miles to the route of Saturday's funeral procession, reports AP. It was feared the original one-mile corridor might create a dangerous crush of humanity. In addition, two huge TV screens in London's Hyde Park will enable crowds to watch the funeral. NBC News said the Palace did not extend the procession in a bow to public pressure but out of concern for public safety.

VIGIL UPDATE
After the number of condolence books at St. James's Palace was increased from five to 43 on Wednesday, the waiting time for the long and thick lines of mourners was reduced from 12 hours to four.