One was a king in name and the other is the spare to the heir for the British throne. Prince Harry and Elvis Presley might not be two names commonly associated with each other but the exiled royal has thought about the palace Presley called home known as Graceland – and he’s not impressed.
Graceland comes to 17,000 square feet and boasts 23 rooms, each with a theme, purpose, and plenty of secrets of their own. Prince Harry grew up in Kensington Palace, biggest house in the world at 484,000 square feet. Prince Harry saw Graceland firsthand in 2014 and has some words about his Presley’s palace holds up.
Prince Harry did not agree with the interior design of Graceland
With over 650,000 visitors a year, Graceland is the second-most-visited house in America, behind only the White House. One of those Graceland visitors was Prince Harry, who was in Memphis, Tennessee to attend the wedding of his good friend Guy Pelly. On Friday, May 2, 2014, Prince William and Prince Harry both toured the palatial home of the King of Rock and Roll.
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It’s a pilgrimage many Elvis worshippers still make, a symbol to celebrate the “Viva Las Vegas” crooner. But visually it left something to be desired for Prince Harry. He recalls his visit in his new memoir, Spare, which was released on January 10 and details the struggles of his life separating from the royal family. “I stood in one tiny room with loud furniture and shag carpet,” he recalled, “and thought, ‘The King’s interior designer must have been on acid.'”
Kensington and Graceland
“People variously called the house a castle, a mansion, a palace,” Harry mused in his memoir, “but it reminded me of the badger sett.” Badger sett refers to a lower ground floor flat he lived in while at Kensington Palace. For Prince Harry, that meant, “Dark, claustrophobic” and “I walked around saying: The King lived here, you say? Really?”
Kensington Palace has some bittersweet memories for Prince Harry. In an earlier interview, he recalled feeling “guilty” when he and his brother had to walk outside Kensington following the death of their mother, Princess Diana, and had to show no emotion to the mourners. “Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum, and the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment,” he recalled.
Do you agree with Prince Harry’s assessment of Graceland? The property houses quite a few secrets of its own. Learn more about Elvis Presley and his home in the video below.