Michael Jackson is not the biological father of any of his three children, it's been reported.

Celebrity website TMZ claims Jackson's ex-wife Deborah Rowe is also not the biological mother of Prince Michael Junior, 12 and Paris Michael Katherine, 11.

Jackson's third child, seven-year-old Prince Michael II, was born to a surrogate mother.

TMZ said that multiple sources have claimed Jackson was not the sperm donor for any of his children, while Rowe was merely the surrogate mother for Prince Michael and Paris.

Meanwhile, the surrogate mother for Prince Michael II was not told that Jackson was to be the receiving parent, the website claims.

Instead, Jackson's lawyer apparently collected the baby three days after its birth from Grossmont Hospital in San Diego County and delivered it to the star.

The website has since claimed that Jackson never formally adopted his three children because he believed there was no third party who would claim custody.

The reports come just 24 hours after Jackson's mother, Katherine, was awarded temporary custody of her son's three children following his death last Thursday.

The Jackson family have argued that the 79-year-old is best suited to care for the children, who led a sheltered – and often masked life – with their father.

There is confusion over whether Rowe, who divorced from Jackson in 1999, will launch a bid for custody of her two children.

A previous attempt to gain custody in 2003 ended three years later in a private settlement.

(by Jason Gregory)