Mrs. Elvis: Priscilla Presley's Life With And Without The King

By | September 21, 2018


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Elvis Presley sits cheek to cheek wit his bride, the former Priscilla Ann Beaulieu, following their wedding May 1, 1967; Priscilla photographed at her home in Beverly Hills in 1975. Sources: (Bettmann/Getty; Reddit)

For 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, Elvis Presley's attention and courtship must have been bewildering. After all, this was Elvis, the King of Rock 'n Roll, who had been making teenage girls scream and weep for years when he and Priscilla met in September 1959. (This was long before the Beatles caused similar scenes.) Presley, stationed in Germany while serving in the U.S. Army, fell for her hard, and they were together for an intense six months before Elvis shipped back home. 

At that point, Priscilla didn't know whether she'd see Elvis again. 

Though young, Priscilla knew that things change. Her father Paul Beaulieu -- her adoptive father, she later discovered -- was in the Air Force, and she'd grown up living the itinerant military-brat life.   

Going To Graceland

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Elvis and Priscilla taking off after their wedding ceremony.

To Priscilla's surprise, Elvis kept in touch and asked her to come to see him at Graceland in 1962. Her parents finally agreed to let her go, for two weeks, with some very specific restrictions. Elvis broke those “rules” almost immediately. When they were supposed to be in Los Angeles, they were actually in Las Vegas but Elvis had Priscilla send postcards to her parents which were mailed from Los Angeles by one of his staff. During this trip to Las Vegas, she took her first amphetamines and sleeping pills in order to keep up with the lifestyle that Elvis lived. 

Just one year later, her parents agreed to let her move to Tennessee for good, but she was supposed to attend an all-girls Catholic School and live with Elvis's parents until she graduated in June of that year. Of course, those rules were bent and she actually moved into Graceland in May. But, eventually, the King did make good on his promise to her parents that he would marry her. And what a momentous day it was for Priscilla to marry the man of her dreams. She was the envy of all of Elvis’ many female fans, many of whom would have given anything to be in her shoes. On May 1, 1967, they officially tied the knot in Las Vegas and flew to Palm Springs, California.