As family, celebrity friends and fans said good-bye to Lisa Marie Presley in a public memorial service at Graceland Sunday, news came that her grieving twin daughters, 14, will at least know where they will be living — with their father, Michael Lockwood, who is expected to get full custody despite their parents’ contentious divorce.
TMZ reported Sunday that the family is fine with the girls, Finley and Harper, living full-time with Lockwood, sources told TMZ. More important, the girls are comfortable with that arrangement and have been living with their father since their mother’s sudden death on Jan. 12 from cardiac arrest.
There had been concerns that another custody fight was brewing, possibly pitting Lockwood against Presley’s first husband, Danny Keough, TMZ reported last week. Keough, married to Presley from 1988 to 1994, had moved back in with Presley and had been acting as Finley and Harper’s stepfather following the suicide of his and Presley’s son Benjamin Keough in 2020. TMZ also said that Presley’s mother, Priscilla Presley, or her daughter, Riley Keough, could make a play for custody.
Presley’s move to divorce Lockwood in 2016 after 10 years of marriage sparked a years-long custody battle that involved a trial, ferocious disputes about money and allegations about Presley’s acknowledged substance abuse problems and mental anguish following her son’s suicide.
In the end, California law says that Danny Keough wouldn’t be in a position to obtain custody, especially since Lockwood and Presley already shared joint custody, TMZ said. The only way Lockwood would be denied custody is if a court found him an unfit parent, which wouldn’t be likely since a judge already found him fit enough for joint custody.
With this new arrangement for Finley and Harper, Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough will continue to remain a presence in the twins’ lives, TMZ said.
Family unity certainly has been in display since Presley’s death and at the celebration of her life Sunday at Graceland, the Memphis, Tennessee, home of patriarch, Elvis Presley. Lockwood and Priscilla Presley flew together to Memphis, the Daily Mail reported.
The service, taking place on the front lawn at Graceland, was live-streamed and included tributes from Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough, performances from Alanis Morissette and Axl Rose, who admitted to mourners that he’s “still in shock” after Presley’s death. Presley’s friend, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, offered a “Tribute to the Children.”
Arriving at the Memphis airport Saturday, Ferguson told Page Six that she believes that Presley died of a broken heart following her son’s suicide. “I think she’s with Ben now,” Ferguson said. She said she had come to Memphis to provide comfort to Presley’s daughters. “I think we need to make sure Finley, Riley and Harper are fully supported going forward,” Ferguson said. At the service, Ferguson said, “For Riley, for Harper and Finley and for the entire family, we march forward in support of you, all of us are with you and we will help you as best you can.”
I say hello to you everyday and I love you my sissy and I will continue to say hello to you everyday. You were my sissy, an amazing mother to Ben, Riley, Harper and Finley and a superbly loving daughter to Priscilla. pic.twitter.com/Sp707Gob9Q
— Sarah Ferguson (@SarahTheDuchess) January 13, 2023
Actor Austin Butler, who received praise from Presley for playing her father in the musical biopic “Elvis,” also attended the service with his supermodel girlfriend Kaia Gerber.
Following the service, there was to be a procession to view Presley’s final resting place in Graceland’s Meditation Garden, where Elvis Presley and Benjamin Keough also are buried. Presley will be buried in a gray marble sarcophagus next to her son.
Presley, 54, was rushed to the hospital on Jan. 12 after going into full cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas. Responders performed CPR before transporting her to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, Lisa Marie died.
The Los Angeles County Coroner announced Tuesday that it would be deferring the results of her official cause of death pending the results of a toxicology test — which could take weeks, the Daily Mail said.
“Priscilla Presley and the Presley family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Lisa Marie,” a rep for the family said to Entertainment Tonight following her death. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”