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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.

FILE PHOTO 1972 - Elvis Presley performs in concert during his "Aloha From Hawaii" 1972 television special. January 8 marks what would have been Elvis's 60th birthday and fans are expected to gather in his home-town of Memphis for the occasion. REUTERS/Stringer
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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.

‘Before Blue Ivy, there was Lisa Marie’

More on Lisa Marie Presley

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”.

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.”

Flowers are seen as music fans pay their respect, in memory of singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the "King of Rock 'n' Roll," Elvis Presley, outside of Graceland, at her birthplace in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. January 13, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht
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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.”

FILE PHOTO: Lisa Marie Presley and her mother Priscilla Presley place their handprints in cement at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu/File Photo
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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.

FILE -Elvis Presley poses with wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie, in a room at Baptist hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 5, 1968.  Lisa Marie Presley, a singer, Elvis... only daughter and a dedicated keeper of her father...s legacy, died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023 after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. (AP Photo/File)
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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.

Lisa Marie Presley (C), with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough (R), attend the 75th birthday celebration for Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee January 8, 2010. Presley, who died in August 1977 aged 42, is one of the top earning dead celebrities, bringing in $55 million in 2009 according to Forbes.com and marketed by Elvis Presley Enterprises which entertainment mogul Robert Sillerman revitalized in 2005. REUTERS/Nikki Boertman (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT ANNIVERSARY OBITUARY) FOR
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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.

Read more: The tragic life of Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie was married four times, including to pop star Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage.

She had struggled with opioid addiction following the birth of her twin daughters in 2008.

Just months before her death she wrote in an essay for People magazine: “I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of nine years old.

“I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far.”

She went on: “Death is part of life whether we like it or not – and so is grieving.”

Lisa Marie is survived by her three daughters, actress and model Riley Keough, and teenage twins Finley Lockwood and Harper Lockwood.

Her children will inherit the Graceland estate, as she inherited it from Elvis following his death.

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

Donald Trump has said his second state visit to the UK could take place in September.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed over an invitation from the King when he visited Washington in February.

Trump teases return to UK – latest updates

Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”

“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.

“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”

Sir Keir Starmer the Trump charmer.
Pic: PA
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA

Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.

The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.

His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.

Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

Read more from Sky News:
Four killed as cable car crashes to ground near Naples

Two dead and five injured in shooting at Florida university

The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters

But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.

Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.

Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.

The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
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Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne

In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.

“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.

More on Florida

He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.

As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.

Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.

She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”

Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.

Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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US judge warns Trump administration could be in criminal contempt over El Salvador deportations

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White House rages at 'appalling' attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.

If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.

And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.

Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.

This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.

“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.

Executive vs judicial

This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.

Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.

Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.

Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.

It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.

‘Administrative error’

At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.

Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.

The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA / AP
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.

This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.

During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Image:
The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.

Democrat senator travels to El Salvador

Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.

“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.

Deportations have been an important part of Mr Trump’s second term, with him being vocal on the issue throughout the campaign trail and into office.

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