Priscilla Presley has spent most of her life in the spotlight. She was Elvis Presley’s wife, and for decades she’s helped keep his memory alive, from looking after Graceland to touring the world with stories about the man everyone called the King. This week she turned up somewhere a little unexpected.
A small town in Germany.
On Monday, Priscilla, 81, was welcomed at the town hall in Baesweiler, near Aachen in western Germany. Mayor Pierre Froesch greeted her, and she signed the town’s Golden Book. That’s a genuine honor. The Golden Book is kept for special guests, and most visitors never get to put their name in it. Two officials from the US Consulate in Düsseldorf came along as well.
She was in town for her stage show, “An Evening with Priscilla Presley,” set for the local school auditorium, where she shares private family photos and film and talks about her years with Elvis.
But the part that got people talking wasn’t the honor.
Priscilla didn’t come alone. Standing beside her was a tall man in his late 30s who almost never shows up in public. When she stepped up to speak, she told the room, “I look forward to a wonderful evening with all of you… And I also want to introduce my son.”
His name is Navarone Garibaldi Garcia, and he’s 39. He’s Priscilla’s son from her relationship with Marco Garibaldi, which makes him the younger half-brother of Lisa Marie, Priscilla and Elvis’s daughter. Navarone has stayed out of the public eye for most of his life, so seeing him travel at his mother’s side came as a surprise to longtime fans.
Then he spoke. And what he said was simple and sweet.
“Hello, everyone. I’m just happy to be traveling with my mom,” Navarone told the crowd. “And thank you for the welcome as well. Everyone’s been so kind to both of us.”
That’s about the whole of it. A son glad to be with his mom.
You can see the moment for yourself, and get a close look at the son Priscilla rarely brings out, in the clip below.
Priscilla introduces her son Navarone to the crowd in Germany
Priscilla seemed moved by the warm reception. “It is wonderful to see how people come together to celebrate music and memories,” she said, in words translated from the German reports.
German TV cameras followed the whole visit, from the welcome at the door to the signing of the Golden Book.
Local German news covers Priscilla’s town hall honor in Baesweiler
From Baesweiler, Priscilla’s little tour keeps rolling. Her next stop is Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday. She’s still doing what she’s done for years, carrying Elvis’s story to the people who love him. This time she had her son along for the ride, and one small German town got to meet him too.