Elvis Presley hit rings out at Dowager Duchess of Devonshire’s funeral

The dulcet tones of Elvis Presley – the man who fascinated Deborah Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire – rang out at her funeral service today.

By Michael Broomhead

Published 2nd Oct 2014, 17:34 BST

The funeral cortege arrives at Edensor for the funeral service. The funeral for the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth House today October 2 2014. Over 600 staff and thousands of public lined the drive leading to Chatsworth House to pay their respects to the Dowager.
Tom Maddick / Rossparry.co.uk — The funeral cortege arrives at Edensor for the funeral service. The funeral for the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth House today October 2 2014. Over 600 staff and thousands of public lined the drive leading to Chatsworth House to pay their respects to the Dowager. Tom Maddick / Rossparry.co.uk

How Great Thou Art, sang by the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in 1967, was played during the service at St Peter’s Church, in Edensor, in memory of the Duchess, who passed away peacefully aged 94 last Wednesday.

The last of the famous Mitford sisters was a huge Elvis fan and owned a collection of Elvis souvenirs and artefacts, including a fence which came from Gracelands.

She once said her obsession with Elvis “happened just by chance because I was looking at something else on the television and I switched on to Elvis and I was suddenly aware that he wasn’t just another pop star, he was just a genius of his kind.”

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