Riley Keough, 34, finally broke her silence on her legal battle with her grandmother Priscilla Presley, 78. After Riley beat out Priscilla to become the sole trustee of her late mother Lisa Marie Presley‘s estate and the owner of Graceland, the Daisy Jones and the Six star addressed where she stands with her grandmother now. “Things with Grandma will be happy,” Riley said in Vanity Fair‘s September 2023 cover story, published on August 8. “They’ve never not been happy,” she added.
Elvis Presley‘s granddaughter talked more about her legal battle with Priscilla that played out for months after Lisa Marie’s death in January. “There was a bit of upheaval, but now everything’s going to be how it was,” Riley said. “She’s a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland. 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.” Riley continued, “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.”
Riley also admitted that “there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives” after the sudden passing of her 54-year-old mother. “Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us,” the Emmy nominee explained. “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. 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.” Riley confirmed that “clarity has been had.”
Weeks after Lisa Marie’s death, it was reported that Priscilla was challenging her daughter’s trust by claiming “fraud”, according to The New York Post. Priscilla reportedly found an amendment that cut her and her former business manager, Barry Siegel, as trustees instead of Riley. After a months-long legal battle between Riley and Priscilla, Riley was declared the sole owner of the estate in May. After the settlement, Priscilla reportedly filed a declaration saying she believes that her late husband, Elvis, would be pleased with the decision. Priscilla also received a reported financial payout in the deal.
In addition to becoming the owner of Lisa Marie’s estate, Riley also inherited Elvis’ historic Graceland estate instead of Priscilla. The legal move that was officially signed off on August 4 did permit Priscilla to be buried at Graceland next to Elvis upon death. “I don’t know why she wouldn’t be buried at Graceland,” Riley said about her grandmother in the Vanity Fair interview. “I don’t understand what the drama in the news was about. Yeah. If she wants to be, of course. Sharing Graceland with the world was her idea from the start.”
Riley’s mother was 54 years old when she passed away on January 12. It took months for Lisa Marie’s cause of death to be revealed by TMZ. The LA coroner determined in July that the singer died from complications from a small bowel obstruction. A toxicology test also showed she reportedly had traces of Opioids in her blood.