Despite the fact that Priscilla and Elvis Presley's wedding took place 56 years ago, there has been renewed interest in their unconventional relationship following the release of the movie Priscilla, which is based on her memoir Elvis and Me.
The late Hound Dog singer and the Dallas actress met at a party in West Germany in 1959, when Priscilla was just 14 years old and Elvis was 24. Despite their 10-year age gap, Elvis quickly identified her as the "right" girl – a "soft-spoken brunette with blue eyes", she told People – and they got engaged in 1966.
© Virgil Apger/Mgm/Kobal/ShutterstockIt was reportedly prompted by Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker, who "put the pressure" on the singer to make their relationship official according to society's expectations at the time. Aged 21 and 31, they tied the knot in Las Vegas in May 1967 in an eight-minute ceremony with Elvis rocking a jacquard black suit and bow tie while his bride wore a floaty wedding dress with embellished sleeves.
© GettyHer beauty look followed a classic 60s style, with a small tiara and a veil secured in her long dark hair in a voluminous beehive with the ends softly curled, and thick winged eyeliner highlighting her eyes.
Despite the fact that the couple waited until their wedding night to start a physical relationship, Priscilla later came under scrutiny for welcoming her daughter Lisa Marie Presley in February 1968, exactly nine months after her big day – and the rumours may have, in part, been fuelled by her figure-skimming gown.
© Getty"I found out how vicious people could be," she said. "There were rumours I was pregnant, and that’s why he got married and I’m going: ‘Oh my God, this is not gonna be good for me.’"
She also recalled to The Hollywood Reporter these rumours had begun before their wedding. While trying on clothes at a Beverly Hills boutique, she said she overheard people gossiping about her. "I heard the girl saying, 'You know who that is? That’s the girl Elvis is dating, and they’re getting married. She’s pregnant.'
"I was like, 'Oh my God, that’s what’s being said?'"
Their marriage lasted six years before she left Elvis in 1972, later admitting that she still loved him but grew tired of his infidelities and wanted her own independence.
© Getty"He wasn’t faithful, not that he had someone special, but when you’re in the entertainment business there is always that and I tried to turn my back to that, but I just didn’t want to share him. Simple as that," she said on Australia's Sunday Night in 2018.
"As much as he wanted to be married and have a family, I don't know if he was ever cut to be married because I don't think he could ever be faithful to one woman."
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