LONDON - AMERICAN star, Madonna, picked up her newly adopted daughter, Mercy James, in London on Sunday.

Mercy, 4, was flown from Malawi to London's Heathrow Airport in a carefully planned operation, said media reports on Monday.

Malawian police had arranged for the airport terminal in Lilongwe, Malawi to be shut so Mercy and her new nanny, could leave privately on a six-seater Cessna Citation.

They went to Johannesburg, then flew first class to Heathrow, landing at 6.30am on Sunday morning.

Madonna, 50, had flown into London from her home in New York with her three other children to meet Mercy reported the Herald Sun.

Reports said that Mercy was excited to be travelling. "She was running around, singing to herself and telling everyone how she would be flying for the first time," said ae staff member at the Kumbali Lodge in Malawi, where she had been staying after the adoption was legalised last week.

Mercy will join Lourdes and brothers Rocco and David Banda, also adopted from Malawi. The children will live in Manhattan.

The children met each other in April and reportedly were upset at having to leave her behind after Madonna's application was rejected by Malawi's High Court, reported the Herald Sun. This decision was overturned by the Supreme Court.

Some children's rights groups claimed the Malawi Government gave Madonna special treatment and said foreign celebrities would now think they could adopt Malawian children at will.