Riley Keough discusses maintaining legacy of Graceland following mother Lisa Marie's death

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Keough has discussed the drama that ensued after her mother's death, earlier this year, following cardiac arrest.

Keough was pitted against her grandmother, Priscilla Presley, over control of the Elvis estate and Graceland, after she was named the sole trustee of her late mother's stake of estate. The issue boiled down to a 2016 amendment to the trust, which sought to remove Priscilla and former business manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees and replace them with Keough and her now-deceased brother, Benjamin.

Priscilla argued the document was “invalid” and that it was “never delivered” to her during Lisa Marie’s lifetime, as required by the terms of the trust agreement. She also called the validity of the amendment into question because Priscilla’s name was misspelled, it was neither witnessed nor notarized, and “Lisa Marie’s signature appears inconsistent with her usual customary signature.”

Riley Keough Officially Becomes New Owner of Elvis’ Graceland https://t.co/SV9TzGBXAX

— E! News (@enews) August 5, 2023

In May, Keough and Priscilla announced that they had settled the matter, and the terms of the agreement were revealed a month later, as reported by Rolling Stone. The settlement earlier this summer involved a $1 million payment to Priscilla and the reimbursement of $400,000 in legal fees.

“When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives. Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us,” the only grandchild of Elvis Presley said. “Everyone was in a bit of a panic to understand how we move forward, and it just took a minute to understand the details of the situation, because it’s complicated,” she continued. “We are a family, but there’s also a huge business side of our family. So I think that there was clarity that needed to be had.”

“There was a bit of upheaval, but now everything’s going to be how it was. She’s a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland,” she said of her grandmother Priscilla Presley. “It’s very important to her. He was the love of her life. Anything that would suggest otherwise in the press makes me sad because, at the end of the day, all she wants is to love and protect Graceland and the Presley family and the legacy. That’s her whole life. So it’s a big responsibility she has tried to take on. None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She’s just been my grandma.”