Dress like the King: Elvis Presley’s custom-made mink coat which he wore in the final months of his life goes on sale for £15,000

Elvis Presley’s custom-made mink and leather coat which he wore in the final months of his life has emerged for sale for £15,000. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll rummaged through his closet at Graceland and picked it out for his fiancee’s brother shortly before he died in 1977.

Elvis was romantically involved with 20-year-old Ginger Alden and wanted her brother Mike Alden to have the coat because he was fond of him.

He also intended to hire him as his bodyguard before his sudden passing aged 42. Mr Alden treasured the jacket for a number of years before donating it to a nationwide raffle.

It has changed hands several times since and is now going under the hammer at auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, of Devizes, Wiltshire. The 47ins long jacket has a leather collar, shoulders and pockets, with eight buttons at the front.

It is sold with a letter of provenance from Rosemary Starkey, Mike’s sister.

She wrote: ‘This mink jacket is authentic and was given to my brother Mike Alden who is also a brother to my sister Ginger Alden who was Elvis’s fiancee at the time of his death.

‘One night while my sister Ginger was at Graceland visiting, Elvis decided to go through his closet and asked Ginger if he thought that Mike could wear this mink jacket as my brother was about the same size of Elvis and Elvis wanted to give it to him as he was very fond of Mike. ‘Elvis had also planned on hiring our brother Mike to be his personal bodyguard as he was going to replace a couple of the ones he had working for him.

‘However, Elvis died before he could hire Mike. ‘I remember Elvis wearing this mink jacket the last year of his life as he wore it when he came over to our home on occasional visits. My brother Mike treasured this mink jacket for a number of years before he decided to donate it for a nationwide raffle.’

Elvis and Ginger dated for six months before his death after meeting through her father, who was a pilot for the superstar’s personal aircraft fleet. The singer proposed to Ginger and even gave her an engagement ring, although his friends later said he never had any intention of marrying again after his divorce from first wife Priscilla.

Alden was the last person to see Elvis alive. She found him dead on his bathroom floor at Graceland on August 16, 1977. The superstar performer had suffered a heart attack. The jacket is being sold alongside Elvis’s 14 carat gold pendant necklace, which he gifted to a friend in 1975. It is valued at £1,500.

The superstar’s 14 carat gold owl-shaped ring, which he gave to a concert goer at a 1973 show in Lake Tahoe, could fetch £15,000. An Elvis medallion and chain with inset ruby and diamonds could make £1,500, while a concert ID badge for his inner circle is valued at £800.

The items have been consigned for sale from a UK private collector who was amassed an impressive array of Elvis memorabilia. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: ‘The mink coat symbolises Elvis of the 1970s and his Las Vegas look with its glitzy glamour. ‘It is a fantastic item with an excellent provenance, while the owl ring is also very impressive. There is a reason they call Elvis the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll and that appeal rings true with collectors.’

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