The extended family and descendants of Elvis Presley are in a unique position, forging their own paths while tied to the King of Rock and Roll. Comparisons would come from within and without. Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s wife, once discussed comparisons and similarities between Elvis and Benjamin Keough, Priscilla’s grandson.
Through Priscilla’s late daughter Lisa Marie, she is the grandmother of Benjamin, who died by suicide on July 12, three years ago; Benjamin was the younger brother of -year-old Riley. Discussing Benjamin and Elvis, Priscilla once admitted she saw a lot of parallels between the two.
Priscilla Presley saw something of Elvis in her grandson Benjamin Keough
Mama Lion with cubs ❤️💙🖤🧡🦁😘 pic.twitter.com/UiYoceWHWN
— Lisa Marie Presley (@LisaPresley) June 20, 2019
Back on June 20, 2019, Lisa Marie took to social media to share a photo of herself and her four children: Riley, Benjamin, and twins Harper and Finley. “Mama Lion with cubs,” she captioned the post. The sentiments were reportedly shared with Priscilla.
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“I see a little of Elvis in Benjamin,” Priscilla once said, according to Us Weekly. Having any relationship to such a prolific figure can be a complicated thing. But, reportedly, Benjamin liked the comparisons. “He strives for that so we don’t make a really big deal about it,” said Priscilla. “There’s a resemblance, but we just let him be Ben, which I think is beautiful so that he can find out what he wants to do and be who he is.”
However, shortly after Benjamin’s death at the age of 27, his friends spoke to PEOPLE about Benjamin’s battle with depression, reportedly exacerbated by a pressure he felt from society to succeed in the industry and live up to Elvis’s own legacy. It is also possible the resemblances noted are not just physical; Lisa Marie herself once said Benjamin reminded her so much of Elvis “on so many levels” that it “actually scared” her. Elvis never received a formal diagnosis of depression, but it was generally accepted that he was tortured and emotionally burdened; Elvis died when he was just 42. Both, it seems, were plagued by inner demons.
Priscilla reflected on the death of Benjamin
Ten days passed since Benjamin died before Priscilla could break her silence, the grief was so “devastating.” On July 22, she took to social media to describe the excruciating pain she and her whole family were feeling.
“These are some of the darkest days of my family’s life,” she said. “The shock of losing Ben has been devastating. Trying to put all the pieces together of all the possible whys has penetrated my soul.” She spent the immediate aftermath of Benjamin’s death thinking of the agony her daughter Lisa Marie, Benjamin’s mother, had to have felt, being such a “doting mother.” Benjamin’s father Danny, Priscilla called utterly “lost.” In the final line of her mournful tribute, she told Benjamin, “you were loved.”