Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King Jr, dies of cancer at 62

Dexter King speaks to the press in 1994 (Leita Cowart/AP)

Dexter Scott King, the younger son of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King, has died after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The King Centre in Atlanta said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights leader died on Monday at his California home.

Dexter King was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Alabama where his father once served as pastor.

From left: Dexter King, Yolanda King, Martin Luther King Jr, Bernice King, Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King III in 1966 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

He was seven when his father was assassinated in 1968.

As an adult, Dexter King became a lawyer and focused on shepherding his father’s legacy and protecting the King family’s intellectual property.

In addition to serving as chairman of the King Centre, he was also president of the King estate.

The children of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King, from left, Martin Luther King III, Dexter King, Yolanda King and Bernice King stand next to a new crypt dedicated to their parents in Atlanta in 2006 (WA Harewood/AP)

Coretta Scott King died in 2006, followed by the Kings’ oldest child Yolanda King in 2007.

“Words cannot express the heart break I feel from losing another sibling,” the Reverend Bernice A King, Dexter King’s youngest sibling, said in a statement.

His older brother, Martin Luther King III, said: “The sudden shock is devastating. It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”