Sarah, Duchess of York has paid tribute to Lisa Marie Presley at a memorial to celebrate her life, calling her Sissie and sharing an anecdote about her late mother-in-law, the Queen.
The duchess was one of many paying tribute to the star on the front lawn at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday.
For years the sprawling estate has been the destination for those paying tribute to Elvis, but following her death on 12 January aged 54, the iconic home has become the venue for those saying a final farewell to his daughter.
Image: Elvis Presley in concert in 1972
Lisa Marie suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California, dying aged 54.
Two days before her death, she had appeared with her mother, Priscilla Presley, at the Golden Globes.
As well as family and friends, members of the public were invited to attend the service, which was also livestreamed.
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The event kicked off with a powerful rendition of Amazing Grace performed by Jason Clark and The Tennessee Mass Choir, dressed in black, flanked by a photo of Lisa Marie.
Filmmaker Joel Weinshanker began the service, saying he hoped they could honour Lisa Marie’s wishes “not to be sad”, and was followed to the lectern by Pastor Dwayne Hunt who paid tribute to her “passion, strength, brilliance and tenaciousness”.
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In his tribute, former mayor of Memphis, AC Wharton, listed many famous celebrity parents, including Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, and Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, he went on: “Before Jay-Z and Beyonce had Blue Ivy, and long before Prince Harry and Meghan had Archie, right here, in this city, our own royal couple, Elvis and Priscilla, had a beautiful bundle of joy, named Lisa Marie…
“Fifty-four years ago there was a star shining over Graceland with the birth of this precious angel.” He said she was inseparably a part of Memphis, calling her “a precious jewel”, and a “sister” to everyone who lived there.
As the only daughter of the King of Rock and Roll, he described her as “the conduit to the throne” and “the keeper of the flame”.
He concluded: “Lisa Marie was all Memphis. She belonged to us and we belonged to her.”
Image: Tributes left at Graceland ahead of the memorial
Royal friends
Sarah, Duchess of York, then took to the stand, speaking about the Queen in her tribute and offering her support to the late singer’s children.
She said: “We need to stoke our flames within to celebrate extraordinary Lisa Marie. I stand here with great honour, because we called each other Sissie. I’ve been here with you all for all your lives and I stand here with great honour. So Sissie, this is for you with affection.”
She went on to tell an anecdote about the Queen, saying: “My late mother-in-law used to say ‘That nothing can be said, can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments because grief is the price we pay for love’, and how right she was.”
Image: Lisa Marie (L) and Priscilla Presley at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame last summer
‘Our heart is broken’
A tearful Priscilla Presley then read out a poem written by her granddaughter about her mother’s loss, titled The Old Soul. She finished her reading, saying: “Our heart is broken Lisa, we all love you”.
Lisa Marie’s agent, Jerry Schilling, described her as “the only person who could intimidate Jerry Lee Lewis”. He went on: “I was in the hospital with her father when Priscilla was giving birth, I was at the hospital with her mother when she left us. Memphis, I will always love you.”
Rock singer Axl Rose said he was “still in shock” about Lisa Marie’s death, adding, “I feel like I should be texting her right now and telling her how wonderful everyone is”. He went on to perform November Rain on the piano.
Other musical performances included Billy Corgan performing To Sheila by The Smashing Pumpkins, Alanis Morissette singing an emotional rendition of her song Rest and the Blackwood Brothers Quartet singing How Great Thou Art and Sweet Sweet Spirit, both of which were previously performed by Elvis.
Image: Elvis with wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie in 1968
Riley’s tribute to her mum, and first mention of her daughter
Actor and stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen, the husband of Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley, read an emotional tribute, written by Riley and titled To My Momma.
Part of the letter read: “I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters. Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humour, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity. I’m a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart.”
Smith-Petersen and Riley have been married since 2015, but haven’t previously revealed they had a daughter together.
Image: Lisa Marie with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough in 2010
‘Her father’s protector’
Joel Weinshanker closed the ceremony, saying: “Lisa’s voice will only be amplified with time, and never be silenced or diminished. She was and will always be her father’s protector, and we will continue to be hers”.
He asked everyone present to respect the family’s wishes not to be photographed or videoed.
Those present were then invited to come in groups to view Lisa Marie’s headstone in Meditation Garden.
Elvis is also buried at Graceland, as are Elvis’s parents, his paternal grandmother, and his grandson Benjamin Keough – Lisa Marie’s son – who took his own life in 2020, aged 27.
Lisa Marie’s final resting place is next to her son and near to her father.
Elvis died from heart failure aged 42 when Lisa Marie was aged just nine. She was four when Elvis and Priscilla Presley were divorced in 1972.
On Day 57 of Trump’s presidency, US correspondent Mark Stone is joined by Gerard Baker, the Wall Street Journal’s editor-at-large.
After spending election night together on the Sky News set in November, the two compare notes on Trump’s presidency to date and discuss whether Trump is misinterpreting or ignoring his mandate.
Gerry shares what he believes Trump has done right, and what he’s got “completely wrong” at the cost of America.
Plus, they bet who will be the first casualty of the administration.
If you’ve got a question you’d like James, Martha, and Mark to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk
Hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members have been deported by the White House to a supermax prison in El Salvador, even as a US judge blocked the removals.
US District Judge James E Boasberg issued an order on Saturday temporarily blocking the Trump administration deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.
Mr Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but the directive was not included in his written order.
Image: Salvadoran police officers escorting alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.
“The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA (Tren de Aragua gang) aliens had already been removed from US territory.”
In a court filing Sunday, the Department of Justice, which has appealed Mr Boasberg’s decision, said it would not use the Trump proclamation he blocked for further deportations if his decision is not overturned.
President Donald Trump sidestepped a question over whether his administration violated a court order while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening.
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But he added: “I can tell you this. These were bad people.”
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Police officers cut the hair of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government. Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Asked about invoking presidential powers used in times of war, Mr Trump said: “This is a time of war.”
He also described the influx of criminal migrants as “an invasion”.
“Oopsie…Too late,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to house about 300 immigrants for a year at a cost of $6m in his country’s prisons, posted on X above an article about Mr Boasberg’s ruling.
The immigrants were deported after Mr Trump’s declaration of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been used only three times in US history – during the War of 1812 and the First and Second World Wars.
Tren de Aragua originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central state of Aragua and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nation’s economy came undone during the past decade.
The Trump administration has not identified the immigrants deported, provided any evidence they are in fact members of Tren de Aragua or that they committed any crimes in the US.
It also sent two top members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang to El Salvador who had been arrested in the US.
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Video released by El Salvador’s government showed the shackled men – who had their heads shaved – being transported to prison in a large convoy of buses guarded by police and military vehicles and at least one helicopter.
The immigrants were taken to the notorious CECOT facility.
The bar on deportations stands for up to 14 days and the immigrants will remain in federal custody during that time.
Mr Boasberg has scheduled a hearing Friday to hear additional arguments in the case.
A delivery driver who needed skin grafts after being burned when a hot tea from Starbucks spilled into his lap has been awarded $50m (£38.6m) in damages.
Michael Garcia suffered third-degree burns to his genitals, groin and inner thighs and has permanent and life-changing disfigurement after collecting the drink at a California drive-through, according to his legal team.
His negligence lawsuit blamed the injuries on Starbucks, claiming an employee did not wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeaway tray.
Video footage shows Mr Garcia being handed a tray of three drinks at the serving window in Los Angeles and appearing to struggle as he drives his vehicle away.
Image: Incident happened at a Starbucks drive-through in California. Pic: Trial Lawyers for Justice
A Los Angeles County jury found in favour of Mr Garcia after he launched legal action over the incident on 8 February 2020.
He was working as a Postmates delivery driver at the time, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
His lawyer Nick Rowley said his client’s “life has been forever changed”.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” he added.
Starbucks said it sympathised with Mr Garcia, but plans to lodge an appeal.
In a statement, the global coffeehouse chain said: “We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive.”
The firm added it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
US restaurants have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3m (£2.3m) in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through.
A judge later reduced the award and the case was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000 (£463,600).