Tomorrow, on February 1, 2022, Lisa Marie Presley turns 54-years-old. The star has become a celebrity in her own right with her own music career, but she came into the world as the only child of the King of Rock and Roll: Elvis Presley. The King died aged 42 on August 16, 1977, at his home, Graceland, after suffering a cardiac arrest. Lisa Marie was nine years old at the time and was in the building. She later recalled what the atmosphere was like on the day of his death.
Elvis was found dead in the bathroom of Graceland in the afternoon by his fiancée at the time, Ginger Alden.
The night before, Elvis was up late and discovered his daughter was as well. Lisa Marie recalled in 2012: “I don’t like talking about this. It was August 16th, at 4am. I was supposed to be asleep, actually. He found me, you know. [He said:] ‘Go to bed.’ I said: ‘Okay.'”
Elvis then kissed his daughter goodnight, put her back into bed, and left the room. She said: “That was the last time I saw him alive.”
Lisa Marie woke up the next day and instantly felt off. She remembered: “I knew something was wrong because I was in my room which was right next to his bathroom. So I knew that something was very wrong. All the commotion and everything. I was a wreck.”
The star added that she was a “mess”.
READ MORE: Elvis Presley spent thousands on gifts before death
Priscilla penned: “Lisa was outside on the lawn with a friend, riding around on the golf cart that her father had given her. At first, I was amazed that she was able to play at a time like this, but when I talked to her, I realised that the full impact of what happened hadn’t hit her yet. She’d seen the paramedics rushing Elvis away, and he was still at the hospital when I’d arrived, so Lisa was confused.”
Lisa Marie eventually asked Priscilla if her father really was “gone”.
Priscilla replied: “Again, I was really at a loss for words. She was our child. It was difficult enough for me to believe and confront Elvis’s death myself. I just didn’t know how to tell her that she would never see her daddy again. I nodded, then took her into my arms. We hugged and then she ran out and started riding around in her golf cart again. But now I was glad she could play. I knew it was her way of avoiding reality.”
Two days later, on August 18, 1977, a funeral was held for Elvis at Graceland. Limousines lined the streets in honour of the star, and tens of thousands of friends, family and fans arrived to pay their respects.
