Priscilla Presley says Elvis Presley was the real deal.
The 69-year-old actress recalled her time with the late musician in an interview with the Daily Mirror. Presley will bring treasured possessions from Graceland to London for the "Elvis at The O2: The Exhibition of His Life" display in December, and spoke lovingly of her ex-husband ahead of the opening.
"I remember when I set eyes on him -- he was just so kind, so authentic," she shared. "I just thought how he was the real deal. Elvis wasn't putting on any pretense, he never did. What you saw with him is what you got. Not everyone knows that."
"People know his music, but they don't necessarily know the real Elvis," she related. "I want the world to know he was a lovely, loyal man. You don't get that with so many musicians or celebrities these days. They don't value their fans, so I want to share with the world what he was really like."
Presley and Elvis met in Bad Nauheim, Germany in September 1959, and married in May 1967. The couple welcomed their first and only child, Lisa Marie Presley, in February 1968, and were officially divorced by October 1973. Elvis died in August 1977, and Presley has served as the Chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises since 1979.
"I'm very, very excited, as we have been wanting to do this for some time," she said of The O2 exhibit. "It is a peek behind the scenes of the real Elvis, Elvis the father, son, friend and dad. He was just so very loyal and that will come across. He was someone who could be trusted, someone who people could rely on."
"It's very emotional," she confessed. "I have so many wonderful memories of Elvis, and I'm surrounded by so many of them, too, and those things remind me of certain occasions ... Some of these exhibits haven't been seen before. Elvis will be so happy. He always thought his British fans were so supportive. He had a special love for them."
"Elvis at The O2: The Exhibition of His Life" will open at The O2 arena in London on December 12.
Source: UPI