Priscilla Presley has insisted Elvis was a lot more down to earth than celebrities nowadays.

She said: "I was just a teenager at the time and I was in Germany, he was signing autographs.

"I just thought how he was the real deal, Elvis wasn't putting on any pretence, he never did. What you saw with him is what you got.

"You don't get that with so many musicians or celebrities these days, they don't value their fans, so I want to share with the world what he was really like."

Priscilla, who was just 14 when she first encountered the singing icon, also spoke about the first time she met him in Germany, saying she had a connection with the music legend from the moment she first saw him.

She said: "I remember when I set eyes on him, he was just so kind, so authentic."

The actress and businesswoman - who had a daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, with the singer before their divorce in 1973 - opened the 'Heartbreak Hotel' crooner's Memphis home, Graceland, to the public in 1982 following the star's tragic death at the estate in 1977, and has now brought items from his home to London for a new exhibition at The O2 Arena.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I'm very excited about it, we have been wanting to bring an Elvis exhibition to England for some time.

"Some of these exhibits haven't been seen before, Elvis will be so happy, he always thought this British fans were so supportive, he had a special love for them."