Dolly Parton Declined Royal Invite For Tea, Joked About Reason Why
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During a recent trip to London to promote her new album, Rockstar, Dolly Parton received an invitation to have tea with Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. But, Dolly politely declined.
In an interview with BBC Radio2, Dolly Parton talked about her visit to England. When the show’s host asked her if she planned to see more of London, Dolly revealed that her schedule was jam-packed. She was so busy, in fact, that she had to turn down a special invitation from the royal family.
“Lordy, I even got invited to have tea with Kate but I couldn’t even go. I thought it was very sweet and nice of her to invite me, and one of these days I’m going to get to do that—that would be great,“ the country legend told host Claudia Winkleman. She then joked that Kate “wasn’t going to promote my rock album so I had to say no.”
Dolly Parton has a long-time relationship with the royal family.
In 1977, Dolly had the honor of performing for Queen Elizabeth II for her Silver Jubilee celebration. Dolly recalled the occasion upon the death of the queen in September 2022.
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The country legend shared more details of the performance in an interview with The Tennessean, saying that she didn’t know she was going to meet the queen until she was on an airplane headed to England.
“When they told me on the plane I was appearing in front of the queen, I just jumped up and down telling everyone. It’s just one of the biggest thrills of my life,” she said. “When I was a little girl I grew up in a world of kings and queens and princes and princesses in fairy tales. Now I was going to meet one.”
Parton even had the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, after the concert.
“That was a great moment, I thought. It’s like I’m not a star worshiper, but as a kid, I was always intrigued by the kings and queens, and I always loved the magazines and the books and their costumes and all,” Dolly said. “Of course, they weren’t like the old kings and queen of the old stories, but it still had that romantic feeling to me to think, ‘That’s the Queen of England.'”
Dolly Parton may not be the queen of a country, but she is the reigning Queen of Country Music.
Dolly is arguably the most successful woman in country music…ever. With too many awards to count and a resume that we can’t even get our heads around, the multi-talented 77-year-old can do it all. While some artists struggle to keep their music career on track, Dolly managed her flawlessly while juggling a massive business empire that includes her Dollywood theme park, the Imagination Library, and the Dollywood Foundation, among others.
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With a career spanning more than five decades, Dolly has set the bar high for those coming behind her. But, she’s quick to give credit to those who paved the way for her and takes offense to being called the Queen of Country Music.
“Well, I’m not the queen, though. The Queen of Country Music is Kitty Wells,” Dolly Parton stated. “Then there are the others like Loretta and Tammy.”
Dolly says that she’ll take whatever title people want to give her but doesn’t like the queen title. “Sometimes they call me the Queen of Country Music and I take offense to that. Because, that’s not fair to the ones that had that title before.”
Hear Dolly Parton talk about being called the Queen of Country Music in the interview below.
