Chef: Prince Had Stomach Pains Before Death

Prince's personal chef has said that the singer spent his final months battling sore throats and stomach pains for "weeks at a time".

Ray Roberts cooked for Prince for almost three years and told the Associated Press news agency that the musician "wasn't himself" in the months leading up to him being found dead on 21 April.

Mr Roberts said Prince had recently been asking for items such as smoothies and freshly-squeezed juices that were easier to digest.

"I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot."

Prince didn't eat meat but normally loved foods such as roasted beets and minestrone soup with a harissa chermoula - a North African herb sauce.

But Mr Roberts noticed Prince was eating less, drinking less water and appeared to be losing weight.

Detectives are looking into whether Prince was being prescribed drugs by a doctor in the weeks before his death - and whether the star died of an overdose.

A powerful painkiller such as Percocet may have been involved in the 57-year-old's death at his home in Minneapolis, according to anonymous law enforcement officials.

They also confirmed US media reports that prescription drugs were at the Paisley Park complex where Prince was found dead, but refused to give further details about the type of pills discovered.

One line of enquiry for investigators is whether a doctor was on board Prince's private jet when the singer fell ill in the days before he died.

The plane made an emergency landing in Illinois and first responders gave him a shot of Narcan - an antidote which is often used in suspected opioid overdoses.

Mr Roberts said Prince showed no signs of weakness and "not even a hint" that he was taking drugs.