Elvis Presley dental crown 'goes missing' during tour

Nicknamed 'The King's Crown', it was made by Elvis Presley's former dentist Henry J Weiss

A dental crown worn by Elvis Presley went astray during a tour to raise awareness of mouth cancer, leaving members of a dental practice "all shook up".

"The King's Crown" was due to arrive at Bracknell's Appledore Dental Clinic early on Thursday, but arrived more than five hours late after a labelling mix-up by FedEx, the practice claimed.

It was located on its way to Dundee before being redirected.

FedEx apologised for the inconvenience.

Dr Teresa Day, from Appledore Dental Clinic in Bracknell, donned her husband's "jazzy shirt" for the Berkshire-leg of the tour

Dr Teresa Day, from the clinic, said: "It was supposed to arrive before 10am with a load of memorabilia, including costumes and a lock of Elvis' hair, but instead we got a small package containing dentistry equipment meant for a clinic on the Isle of Wight.

"It put a dampener on the days' events and left us 'all shook up' because we weren't all able to dress up as we'd hoped, and patients coming to the clinic to have their free mouth cancer checks were left disappointed when the crown wasn't there."

Return to sender

She said it "eventually turned up" at 15:30 BST and would now be on display in the clinic until late on Friday.

A FedEx spokeman said: "Once we were informed of this situation we quickly located the correct package in accordance with our normal procedures and made the necessary arrangements to ensure it arrived at the correct destination promptly.

"We are in touch with the customer to ensure that the Elvis Presley dental crown delivery arrives safely and on time at its next destination."

Presley's dental mould, with the crown in place, was made by the star's former dentist Henry J Weiss and donated to the British tour by Canadian dentist Michael Zuk who bought it at auction for £6,500.

Elvis Presley visited a dentist the day before he died on 16 August 1977

It is travelling with five letters of authenticity, from the wife and sons of the dentist, and Joe Esposito, Presley's road manager.

The tour, which began in Malvern on 30 April, will make its way to Barry next, before continuing to Stafford and finishing in Hull on 17 June.