Elvis Presley’s Last Moments Revealed In New Book

“I’m going to the bathroom to read.” Those are the last words Elvis Presley ever said.

The Telegraph reported that Ginger Alden, Elvis’ fiance at the time of his death, recounts his last moments, as well as the time they were together in a new book she wrote, “Elvis & Ginger: Elvis Presley’s Fiancée and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story,” due to be published September of this year.

In the 37 years since Elvis’ death on August 16, 1977, Alden has kept her silence about their tumultuous relationship, until now. Alden writes about their lives together, starting with how the two had met, through their courtship, the engagement and the often belligerent life inside Graceland.

Elvis and Alden met when Alden was a child, at a fairgrounds. Many years later, Elvis had invited Alden’s sister, Terry, to Graceland in November, 1976. However, Terry, then Miss Tennessee, was unable to make it, so Ginger and her other sister, Rosemary, made the trip. Elvis was quickly captivated by Alden.

“I know this sounds funny but when Elvis entered the room, I thought trumpets would sound. He looked so handsome,” she recalled.

Alden then accompanied Elvis on a tour in Las Vegas, where she was given a huge diamond ring, and another ring encrusted in diamonds and sapphires. On January 26, 1977, Elvis proposed to Alden–in the bathroom where he would die almost 6 1/2 months later. He promised her the “wedding of the century,” Alden writes.

It was after the engagement that Elvis’ darker side would show. From shooting telephones because it disturbed him, to shooting televisions, to gorging on food, Alden saw all of it. When she would chide Elvis about his compulsive eating, Elvis threw a bowl of ice cream at her.

Each time, Elvis apologized to Alden for his ourbursts. Each time, she accepted.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Alden accounts for the last few hours of Elvis’ life. Early in the morning of August 16, Elvis, unable to sleep, uttered what would be his last words to anyone to Alden; “I’m going to the bathroom to read.” She tells him, “Okay, but don’t fall asleep.” Hours later, around 2 AM, Alden realizes Elvis hasn’t returned to bed. She goes to the bathroom, knocks on the door and opens it while calling Elvis’ name.

“That’s when I saw him there.”

In it, she tells how she found Elvis slumped over on the bathroom floor. She bent down to help him; his skin was cold to the touch.

“I slapped him a few times and it was like he breathed once when I turned his head,” she said.

Alden tried opening an eye.

“It was just blood-red, but I couldn’t move him. I didn’t want to think he was dead. God wouldn’t want to take him so soon.”

She pressed the intercom that rang in the kitchen and called for help.

Despite rapid first aid from Presley’s old army mate, Joe Esposito, the 42-year-old died from an overdose of medications.

The book details Elvis’ demise, and reflects, chronologically, on the couple’s relationship and Presley’s multifaceted personality. It will be published in hard cover for sale and distribution on September 2 of this year.