Elvis Presley: Priscilla Says Her Problems Were ‘Secondary’ to the King, ‘He Had to Be Happy’

Priscilla Presley was one of the closest people in the world to Elvis Presley. She was his girlfriend and later wife from 1959 through 1973 and the mother of his only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. However, Priscilla learned from an early age her problems were secondary to that of the King of Rock and Roll. She said the most important thing was that “he had to be happy” first and foremost.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley were married for six years

Priscilla received a marriage proposal from Presley shortly before Christmas 1966. The couple had been in a relationship since the late 1950s when Elvis was stationed in Germany.

Col. Tom Parker tried to keep the event under wraps. He had the couple fly from Palm Springs to Las Vegas at midnight on their wedding day on May 1, 1967. 

Reportedly, Frank Sinatra loaned the couple his private jet so they could get to their destination without any suspicion.

Presley and Priscilla got their license around 3 a.m. that same day.

They tied the knot in a room at the Aladdin Hotel in front of 14 people.

A champagne breakfast followed the ceremony for 100 guests

“My wedding was very unusual,” Priscilla told Vogue. “It was the people closest to us and private, and that’s how we wanted it. We didn’t want a fan club. We didn’t want a circus.”

Elvis and Priscilla would separate in 1972 and formally divorce in 1973.

Priscilla Presley says her problems were ‘secondary’ to Elvis Presley, and ‘he had to be happy’

In an interview with People Magazine, Priscilla said that the most important thing was that she always met Elvis’ needs first.

“With Elvis,” she says, “my life was his life. He had to be happy. We never disturbed him. My problems were secondary.”

Priscilla explained their relationship further in her biography “Elvis and Me.”

“I mean, you lived his life. You saw the movies he wanted to see. You listened to the music he wanted to listen to. You’d go to places that he would go. I didn’t have my own life, so I lost myself.”

This realization came after the King of Rock and Roll molded Priscilla into his idea of what a woman should look like and how she should behave.

Elvis reportedly remade Priscilla into his image, reported the Biography website.

Priscilla endured porcelain caps on her teeth to correct their color and shape.

He insisted she dye her hair black, like his, and wear it in teased high to match his pompadour hairstyle.

She insists she always loved the king but had to divorce him for one key reason

Elvis and Priscilla divorced in 1973. They continued to co-parent their only daughter, Lisa Marie, amicably until Elvis’ 1977 death.

Even though their marriage ended, the couple was still incredibly close.

Priscilla explained in her memoir that she divorced Elvis for one key reason.

She wrote, “I did not divorce him because I didn’t love him. He was the love of my life, but I had to find out about the world.”