Ginger Aldren first met Elvis when she was five years old.
Her father was a Public Relations Officer in the Army in Memphis. When Elvis returned from Germany and was no longer in the service, our family was invited, by an uncle of Elvis', to join Elvis and a group at the local fairground. Elvis remembered Ginger's father and walked over to meet him and his family. Elvis was so kind and cordial. He shook hands with each person and patted Ginger on the head. No one never dreamed thier paths would cross again or that in 15 years Ginger would become engaged to Elvis!
On the evening of November 19th 1976. George Klein called Ginger's sister Terry, the reigning Miss Tennessee, asking if she would like to meet Elvis. Terry was engaged at the time but thought, of course it would be nice to see Graceland and meet Elvis. She told George yes, but felt awkward going alone so she took Ginger along with her. When they arrived at Graceland they were escorted upstairs and in to Lisa Marie's bedroom. Ginger has said 'I know this sounds funny but when Elvis entered the room, I thought trumpets would sound'.
'He looked so handsome. He quickly sat in a chair and started talking with each of us.
It turned out to be a truly wonderful evening as he took us on a tour of Graceland'.
Joe Esposito : Elvis liked Ginger Aldren very much, but her mother pretty much controlled her and wanted to be around Elvis all the time. I don’t think he was going to marry her. He may have told her that he wanted to marry her and stuff like that, so she would stay around, but after a while he started to date her, he started to date other women too. I don’t think he was ever going to marry her.
Ginger Alden who was Elvis' current girlfriend at the time of his death is selling her engagement ring which Elvis gave her. Here is the description with the ring which is being auctioned off in November.
Elvis Presley's Diamond Ring to Ginger Alden. Ginger Alden, Elvis' fiancee, first met Elvis Presley in 1961, when she was just 5 years old. Her father had been been Presley's induction officer when the musician joined the Army in 1958, and the Rock legend had invited the family out for an evening at the local fair.
The two were introduced 15 years later in 1976. During their courtship, Presley often introduced Ginger and her family during his performances, including his last televised appearance in 1977. He had planned to announce their engagement publicly on his upcoming tour in Memphis; sadly, he died before this could happen.
Ginger describes the scene thusly: "In December of 1976, Elvis Presley performed what would be his last shows in Las Vegas, and he invited me to accompany him. Seated on his bed inside of the penthouse suite at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel, Elvis called me in, asked me to sit down, close my eyes, and hold out my hand. I felt a ring being slipped on my finger. I was stunned when I opened my eyes and he asked me to hold out my other hand and he slid this gold and diamond ring onto that finger. Elvis loved jewelry, wanted me to share that love and I wore this many times in Las Vegas and afterwards."
The ring features 15 round brilliant cut diamonds with a total weight of 1 kt. in a 14 kt. yellow gold setting with a weight of 11.8 grams. Two of the diamonds are chipped, otherwise the ring is in Excellent condition. Estimate: $30,000 US Dollars - up.
