SINGER-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of rock and roll icon Elvis Presley, has been laid to rest at the family's legendary Tennessee home Graceland, where hundreds of fans and loved ones gathered on Sunday for a public memorial service.
Crowds lined up at dawn in Memphis to pay tribute to the singer who died on January 12 at age 54, after she was rushed to hospital for cardiac arrest.
Priscilla Presley – Lisa Marie's mother and Elvis's wife for six years until their divorce in 1973 – joined forces with performers including Alanis Morisette, Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose and Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan, to pay tribute.
"Grief is the price we pay for love," the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, told the mourners, quoting her former mother-in-law – the late Queen of England Elizabeth II, who famously used those words to address the families of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Presley, who led a tumultuous life in the sprawling shadow of her world-famous father, and who attended a high-profile awards ceremony just this month, had been rushed to a California hospital's intensive care unit for cardiac arrest and died shortly after.
She was Elvis's only child. She previously controlled Elvis Presley Enterprises, but sold the bulk of shares in the company to a private equity firm in 2005.
She retained control of Graceland, the estate her father owned and where he was found unconscious in August 1977.
Elvis was taken to a hospital but pronounced dead from a heart attack. Toxicology reports found high levels of prescription drugs in his system.
Lisa Marie released three albums this century, and is the mother of actor Riley Keough, who appeared in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’.
In addition to Danny Keough, whom she divorced in 1994, she has also been married to actor Nicolas Cage, pop superstar Michael Jackson and actor-composer Michael Lockwood.
She was left devastated following the death by suicide of her son Benjamin less than three years ago.
Reports said she was buried next to him at Graceland. – AFP, January 23, 2023
