Howard K Stern told a court in Florida yesterday that Anna Nicole Smith was convinced that she would die young and had put considerably time into making plans for her own burial.

The court, led by Judge Larry Seidlin, is to determine the burial location for Anna Nicole’s body. Judge Seidlin initially thought he would have to settle the ongoing paternity dispute to make a final verdict but after a brief conference with the various legal teams, he decided to leave that issue aside for as long as possible.

Speaking in the witness stand yesterday, Howard recalled that Anna Nicole “talked of death really from the time that I met her” and that they had looked at burial plots in Burbank, California near Marilyn Monroe’s grave but found they were too expensive.

When Anna Nicole’s son Daniel died in September, Howard claims they “went back and forth for some time” over where he would be buried but Anna Nicole insisted that he would be interned in the Bahamas.

Howard added: “She died emotionally when Daniel died. It was the reason why she didn’t want to bury him than earlier than … she did. It was the most difficult thing that I’ve ever seen anyone go through.”

“She was inconsolable, hugging and grabbing on to him. She said, ‘If Daniel has to be buried, I want to be buried with him.’”

“Anna and Daniel were inseparable. Daniel was without question the most important person in Anna’s life.”

Howard also claimed that he had been “more than friends” with Anna Nicole for over two years but that they kept their relationship a secret: “We became more than friends. She was my whole world, everything to me. She was my lover.” But he added that he thought Anna Nicole’s second husband J Howard Marshall was “truly, truly the love of her life.”

Howard and Anna Nicole “spiritually married” in a ceremony shortly after Dannielynn’s birth and Daniel’s death last September but even though it wasn’t legally binding, Howard revealed they called each other husband and wife and they were planning to officially marry this week.

Howard was flown back to the Bahamas and baby Dannielynn last night but Judge Seidlin asked him to return to the courtroom for today’s hearing, saying: “I like having you here. Please don’t embarrass me by not showing up.”