Riley Keough's Fractured Relationship With Her Grandmother Priscilla Presley
Legal battles are never fun, especially when they consist of issues between family members. That's the case right now with Priscilla Presley and her granddaughter, Riley Keough. Even though the two of them, along with Keough's mother Lisa Marie Presley, seemed like they were pretty close during the award season campaign for Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis," things are just not that way anymore. Lisa Marie died on January 12 due to cardiac arrest, only two days after going to the Golden Globes with the women in her family. And the battle over her will and trust has fractured Keough's relationship with Priscilla.
When Elvis Presley died in 1977, People reported that he named Lisa Marie as his heir and made his ex-wife, Priscilla, a co-executor of his estate until Lisa Marie's 25th birthday. Lisa Marie made a trust to handle the estate's finances when she turned 25, and it's already seen its fair share of legal issues. The passage of time and the dissolution of Lisa Marie's marriage to Michael Lockwood, as well as her finances caused Lisa Marie and Priscilla's relationship to fall apart. "I can assure you, in the last seven years of Lisa's life, she never discussed with Priscilla any business," a friend told People, noting that she wanted her four kids (prior to Benjamin Keough's death in 2020) to each "have five percent of the estate." Now Priscilla is contesting her daughter's will, which appears to be pushing her granddaughter Riley away.
Lisa Marie Presley's relationship with her mom, Priscilla Presley, was not great
Despite their 2023 Golden Globes appearance, Lisa Marie Presley didn't have a great relationship with her mother, Priscilla Presley. Lisa Marie's custody battle with her twins' father, Michael Lockwood, was one source of contention. As People reported, Lisa Marie split from Lockwood in 2016, but the divorce wasn't finalized until 2021 due to those legal issues. Priscilla reportedly sided with Lockwood. The two even traveled together to Lisa Marie's funeral.
As expected, Riley Keough is not a fan. "Riley was always on her mom's side when it came to Michael," a source told People. "He came to Memphis under the pretense that he had to chaperone the twins — and he forced his way in[to the funeral] with Priscilla's help... The last thing Lisa Marie would have wanted was for Michael to be there."
Considering Lisa Marie's relationship with Lockwood ended in 2016, it makes sense that she would have changed her will to exclude her mother, or at least to prioritize her children. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that's what happened. "When Elvis died, he had one child, which was Lisa Marie — he wanted everything to go to Lisa Marie," Christopher Melcher, a celebrity attorney and legal analyst, told Vulture. "Priscilla and Elvis were divorced and he made a conscious choice not to leave Priscilla in his will or estate. When Lisa Marie expressed her wishes, she wanted her children to inherit her estate."
Priscilla Presley isn't helping her relationship with Riley Keough
Of course, this all came to light after Lisa Marie Presley's funeral, when Priscilla Presley's legal team challenged the "authenticity and validity" of the addition to the late Presley's trust. The amendment made Riley Keough the "sole trustee." As Vulture reported, the "Daisy Jones & The Six" actor and her half-sisters, twins Harper and Finley Lockwood, are beneficiaries of the trust; they inherited the Graceland mansion and 15% of Elvis Presley Enterprises. A source told Page Six that Priscilla's petition is "strictly a money grab," and that Lisa Marie "had no relationship with Priscilla, [her ex-husband] Michael Lockwood, or her half-brother [Navarone Garibaldi]."
Regardless of its authenticity, Priscilla's team argued that the 2016 amendment should be voided because she claims she wasn't told about it. As you can imagine, this is shattering Keough and Presley's relationship further. "They do not see eye to eye," People reported a source said. Insiders say that Keough doesn't want her grandmother to "butt in" and Priscilla knows that with Keough in charge, she will have "no say."
Unfortunately, money and legal battles have changed the once-tight bond between Keough and her grandmother. A source told Page Six that Keough is "seeing a new side of her grandmother," at such a trying time. "Riley and Priscilla are not talking. Their relationship is changing, that is true ... it's just so sad," the source said. "This is the time Riley would really need her grandmother."