Lisa Marie Presley Learned to ‘Manipulate’ Graceland Staff by the Age of 4

Lisa Marie Presley grew up bouncing between Graceland and Los Angeles. In both homes, she was constantly surrounded by staff who worked for Elvis Presley. By the time she was a toddler, she had learned to use this to her advantage. According to Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie used the threat of Elvis to get what she wanted from the staff. It worked, much to Priscilla’s frustration.

Lisa Marie Presley used Elvis’ name to manipulate Graceland staff

Elvis experienced a career revival shortly after Lisa Marie’s birth and was often away from home during her early years. Still, she learned to use the threat of his presence as a way to get what she wanted. 

“By the time Lisa was four, she realized she could manipulate the help,” Priscilla wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “Whenever one of them refused to do something for her, she’d threaten, ‘I’m gonna tell my daddy and you’re going to get fired.'”

Graceland staff, knowing Elvis loved his daughter and had a temper, did not want to risk their jobs. As a result, these threats often worked in Lisa Marie’s favor.

“Since none of them wanted her going to Elvis, they’d let her get her way, from staying up until all hours and skipping nightly baths to staying home from school,” Priscilla wrote. “The result was that Lisa had trouble learning what was right and wrong and what she could and couldn’t do.”

Priscilla Presley scolded Lisa Marie Presley for her behavior at Graceland

Priscilla did not like to see her young daughter display this sort of behavior. Whenever she realized Lisa Marie was doing it, she scolded her. 

“‘You don’t treat people that way,'” I told her. ‘It’s abusive. Yes, they work for your father. But you don’t go around threatening them.'” 

Despite Priscilla’s chastising, Lisa Marie struggled to stop. After all, it had always worked out the way she wanted.

“Used to seeing people jump at her father’s command, Lisa took years to overcome this habit,” Priscilla wrote. “At family gatherings today, Jerry Schilling, Joe Esposito, and Dee Presley’s sons Ricky and David, we still joke about Lisa’s imperious past.”

Priscilla Presley said Elvis spoiled their daughter

Priscilla also found her husband’s behavior frustrating. He was often away and, as if to make up for it, gifted Lisa Marie extravagant presents when he saw her. The problem was, these gifts were often inappropriate for a young child.

“Lisa and I visited him in Vegas for her birthdays, having huge parties in the suite, where she received everything from slot machines to two Saint Bernard puppies (a gift of Colonel [Tom] Parker’s) to an entire room filled with balloons — everything, in short, a two- or three-year-old shouldn’t have and couldn’t appreciate.”

Priscilla wanted Elvis to give Lisa Marie quality time at home. She asked him to come back to their house for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but he typically did not. 

“I just wanted him home,” she wrote. “It was a constant effort, single-handedly trying to keep up family traditions.”