Elvis Presley may have long since left the building, but before he did so, he made a secret visit to England, it has emerged.

The King toured London 50 years ago, taking in the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace with the onetime pop pin-up Tommy Steele.

It has always been understood Presley once set foot on Scottish soil, but never English, however yesterday theatre producer Bill Kenwright let fans in on the clandestine visit.

In an interview on Radio 2, the 62-year-old friend of Steele’s revealed that Elvis, who died in 1977, flew into London for one day in 1958.

On the show Tracks Of My Years, he said to host Ken Bruce: "Shall I tell you a little story that I know and you don't know and nobody knows?

"Elvis came to England. Nobody thinks he did and I hope Tommy doesn't go mad when I tell you.

"Tommy got a phone call one night. It said: 'They tell me you're good' and Tommy replied: 'Who's this?'

"The caller said: 'It's Elvis,' and Tommy said: 'Get outta here.' And Elvis said: 'Are you as good as me?'

"And they talked and they got a friendship. Elvis flew in for a day.

"Tommy showed him round London... showed him the Houses of Parliament and spent the day with him."

The legendary singer, who was 23 and at the height of his musical career, would have caused pandenomium had he been recognised. Early that year he had scored two UK No. 1s, with Jailhouse Rock and I Got Stung, and his first film Love Me Tender was still fresh in the memories of Britons.

The singer, who never performed in the UK, joined the US Army in March of 1958 and was posted to Germany.

On his way home from his German army base in 1960, he stopped over briefly at Scotland’s Prestwick airport – and until now this event was believed to be his only UK visit.

Steele, now 71, said that he had promised never to reveal Presley’s visit in public and that he was disappointed that it had come out.

He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "What actually happened many years ago is something secret and memorable.

"It was an event shared by two young men sharing the same love of their music and the same thrill of achieving something unimaginable.

"I swore never to divulge publicly what took place and I regret that it has found some way of 'getting into the light'. I can only hope he can forgive me."

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