Priscilla Presley Says She and Granddaughter Riley Keough 'Were Never Not on Good Terms' amid Estate Drama

The actress and her granddaughter recently came to a settlement over the late Lisa Marie Presley’s estate

As the dust settles over whatever disagreements may have emerged from the battle for Lisa Marie Presley’s trust, her mother Priscilla Presley is maintaining that her relationship with granddaughter Riley Keough was never on shaky ground.

The actress, 78, shared insight into her bond with Keough, 34, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, weeks after a judge officially approved a settlement between the two that names Keough the sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s estate.

“Riley is now the executor, which should be right, obviously, being her daughter,” Presley told the outlet. “Riley and I are on good terms. We were never not on good terms. That was all publicity.”

The star — who was married to rock legend Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973 — continued, noting that the matter is “private,” and alleging that she and Keough are “not agreeing” is “not something to fool around with.”

“In fact, I’m having dinner with [Riley] tonight,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “We understand what needs to be done. I’m there for her. She knows that. She wants me there for her to help her.”

Priscilla Presley in The Hollywood Reporter.

Melodie McDaniel

Riley Keough Named Sole Trustee of Late Lisa Marie Presley’s Estate After Legal Dispute with Priscilla Presley

Keough and Presley first came to an agreement in May, four months after Lisa Marie died of a small-bowel obstruction in January at age 54. Lisa Marie was Elvis’ sole heir — and after her death, Priscilla Presley filed a petition contesting the “authenticity and validity” of a 2016 amendment Lisa Marie had made that removed Presley and her former business manager as co-trustees, and put things in the hands of Lisa Marie’s children instead.

The settlement was approved earlier this month, and also puts Keough in charge of the sub-trusts of her 14-year-old sisters Harper and Finley Lockwood (Their dad, Lisa Marie’s ex-husband Michael Lockwood, signed off on the arrangement on their behalf).

Though lawyers for both Keough and Presley had made efforts to keep the terms of the settlement confidential, court documents obtained by PEOPLE indicated that Keough would give her grandmother a $1 million lump-sum payment.

Upon reaching the settlement in May, Keough’s attorney Justin Gold said the Daisy Jones & the Six actress “would not have agreed to the settlement if she was not happy with it.”

Priscilla Presley ‘Still Can’t Believe’ Daughter Lisa Marie Is Dead: ‘I Don’t Wish This on Any Mother’

Priscilla Presley and Sofia Coppola on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter.

Melodie McDaniel

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In June, Presley expressed her happiness with the agreement in a declaration obtained by PEOPLE, in which she wrote that Keough and their teams “worked diligently and tirelessly to resolve all misunderstandings as a family.”

In the same declaration, Presley said the petition she’d filed was “misconstrued” as “a ‘fight’ over my beloved daughter’s trust,” and that she had not intended to start drama.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Keough — who welcomed a daughter, Tupelo Storm, last August — also made it clear that things with her grandmother had settled.

Riley Keough.
David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty

“Things with Grandma will be happy. They’ve never not been happy,” she said. “There was a bit of upheaval, but now everything’s going to be how it was. She’s a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland… It’s a big responsibility she has tried to take on. None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She’s just been my grandma.”

A source told PEOPLE in May that the actress was “relieved to have settled the dispute.”

“She doesn’t want any drama with her grandmother,” the insider said. “She was hoping they could reach a settlement quickly… Riley is still grieving her mom. It’s been very tough for her. She wants to focus on making memories with her own daughter now. This is her priority.”

Priscilla Presley was interviewed for THR alongside director Sofia Coppola, who is adapting the star’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me into a new film called Priscilla.

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Source: HIS Education