Introduction
INSIDE THE UPPER FLOORS OF GRACELAND: Riley Keough’s Modern Stewardship and Priscilla’s Sealed Memories
When Riley Keough was thrust into the role of sole trustee of Graceland following the sudden passing of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, the public viewed it as a jarring transition. However, for Riley, the family business was deeply familiar territory. Having been unofficially involved alongside her mother since her twenties, Riley’s transition was rooted in a lifelong bond. Co-authoring her mother’s posthumous memoir, Riley recalled the profound, almost tangible energy of Elvis’s private bedroom—a space where Lisa Marie loved reading her father’s heavily annotated Bibles. “His spirit is imprinted there,” Riley noted, acknowledging the heavy grief of losing both her mother and her brother, Benjamin, within a mere three-year window.
Despite media sensationalism painting a picture of bitter estate feuds between Riley and her grandmother, Priscilla Presley, the reality remained one of quiet family solidarity. In October 2024, Riley proudly brought Priscilla to Graceland as a surprise guest to promote Lisa Marie’s memoir, silencing the rumors.
While Riley’s time on the restricted second floor was limited, Priscilla spent eight years of her life living upstairs in that very sanctuary. Priscilla vividly remembers Christmas of 1962, when a 17-year-old version of herself was driven through the beautiful, glowing gates of Graceland for the first time. One of Elvis’s immediate gestures was guiding her up the white-carpeted stairs to meet his grandmother, Minnie May (affectionately called “Dodger”). Minnie May was a permanent fixture upstairs until Lisa Marie’s birth in 1968 transformed her room into a nursery, prompting a move downstairs.
Living “on the hill” with Elvis meant adapting to his highly specific eccentricities. Elvis preferred his bedroom entirely dark and freezing cold, creating a cocoon-like environment sustained by the continuous hum of an air conditioner. Meals were quietly delivered directly to the door. The windows were masked by heavy black drapes, which Elvis operated via a remote control so he could sleep seamlessly during the day. To prevent Elvis from tripping over his vast collection of spiritual books in the dark, Priscilla eventually had custom bookshelves built directly underneath his rigid, exceptionally firm bed.
Beyond the bedroom lay the mysterious Graceland attic, reached by a gold-banistered staircase. Whispered by Minnie May and staff to be haunted by the spirit of Elvis’s late mother, Gladys, the attic housed hidden treasures. Exploring it alone while Elvis filmed in Hollywood, Priscilla discovered two hidden closets. One preserved Elvis’s 1950s leather jackets and motorcycle hats; the other immaculately preserved Gladys’s simple, unextravagant dresses.
Decades later, as Riley steps forward with Priscilla’s full blessing to manage this historic legacy, the halls of Graceland remain a living archive. For Priscilla, stepping into the home instantly revives the echo of Elvis’s laughter and the sound of him playing gospel music on the piano, proving that the memories of the hill never truly faded.