Priscilla Presley will always cherish her memories with Elvis Presley, and honor his legacy decades after his passing.
Though the former couple split in 1973 after six years of marriage — when their late daughter Lisa Marie Presley was five years old, and four years before the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s untimely passing aged 42 — the Elvis and Me author has always been at the forefront of preserving his legacy.
She often delights fans by sharing throwback photos of the two together, though most recently, she paid tribute to the “A Little Less Conversation” singer for a more emotional reason.
On Friday, August 16, Priscilla took to Instagram and shared a black-and-white, close-up photo of Elvis, in honor of the 47th anniversary of his passing.
Elvis was found unresponsive in his famed Graceland estate on August 16, 1977, and the immediate cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest, as a result of cardiac arrhythmia combined with his drug use and unhealthy eating habits.
“47 years and not a day goes by that I don’t think of you,” Priscilla endearingly wrote, and fans were quick to take to the comment section under the post, which was liked by her granddaughter Riley Keough, to further pay tribute to the legend.
“Once you love Elvis it’s forever. Thank you Priscilla for keeping Elvis alive,” one wrote, as others followed suit with: “He is eternal!” and: “Gone but NEVER forgotten. May he rest in eternal peace. You are in my thoughts and prayers today Cilla,” as well as: “Thinking of you and your family today, Priscilla. Always hold the precious memories close to your heart and remember the beautiful times you had together! I’m sending you all my love.”
Her post came just two days after she also paid tribute to Elvis’ mom Gladys, and the 66th anniversary of her passing when she was 46 years old, also from a heart attack.
© Getty“Today, August 14th, Elvis’ mother Gladys passed. She meant the world to him,” Priscilla wrote, adding: “He shared so many stories about how protective she was… one being, she would walk with him to school in fear he would get beat up by the school’s bad boys.”
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© Getty“He would ask her to stop before they were near the school. I never met Gladys but I felt I knew her through all his stories,” she shared.
© GettyPriscilla and Elvis met in 1959 in Germany, when he was 24 and serving as an armor intelligence specialist for the U.S. Army, and Priscilla was 14, living with her mom and stepfather Joseph Paul Beaulieu, who was a member of the U.S. Air Force.
She moved into Graceland when she was 18 — in Sofia Coppola’s recent biopic, Priscilla, she is portrayed as finishing her senior year of high school while living in the famed Tennessee estate — and in 1982, five years after Elvis’ passing, she largely saved the Presley family from financial peril when she made the pivotal decision to open Graceland to the public.
