At Memorial Service for Lisa Marie, a Surprise Reveal

Daughter Riley Keough has a daughter, making Elvis a great-grandfather
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2023 7:53 AM CST
Turns Out, Elvis Is a Great-Grandfather
Axl Rose plays "November Rain" at a memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday.   (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian via AP)

Lisa Marie Presley's memorial service at Graceland on Sunday was a star-studded occasion, with Sarah Ferguson speaking and musical tributes by the likes of Axl Rose, Alanis Morissette, and Billy Corgan. But amid the speeches and songs was a surprise reveal, one easy enough to miss for those not listening carefully. Page Six reports it came as Ben Smith-Petersen, husband of Presley's oldest daughter, Riley Keough, read a letter on behalf of Keough during the service.

The note from Keough, who was in the audience for Smith-Petersen's reading, thanked her mother for giving her "strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity," as well as noted that she, her brother, and her sisters were all "a product of your heart." And then: "Thank you for showing me love is the only thing that matters in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters."

There was no further elaboration on this previously unknown daughter, who would officially make Lisa Marie Presley a grandmother, and Priscilla Presley and Elvis Presley great-grandparents. A rep for Keough, 33, later confirmed to both Yahoo Entertainment and People that the baby girl was born late last year, though no additional details were given. Keough and Smith-Petersen, a stuntman, met on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road in 2012, started dating a year later, and were married in 2015. (More Riley Keough stories.)

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