Why Dolly Parton said no to Kate Middleton's personal invitation

Dolly Parton had her first brush with British royalty back in 1977 when she performed for Queen Elizabeth, calling the experience the "biggest thrill" of her life. Nearly five decades later, the country music star revealed she almost met another senior royal.

In 2023, the Jolene singer said that while she was in London, she received an invitation to have tea with none other than the Princess of Wales. But sadly, she had to decline. 

"I even got invited to have tea with Kate and I felt so bad, I couldn’t even go," Dolly said on BBC Radio 2. The star explained her team "had all this stuff set up" to promote her album, Rockstar.

"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."

She then added with a chuckle: "But she wasn't going to promote my rock album so I had to say no."

Dolly was 'flattered' by the invite

The music star later said that she was "flattered" to have received the royal invitation. 

Speaking to Saga Exceptional in 2023, she went into more detail about why she was unable to go. "I only had one full day and I did not have a second to do anything else besides work."

Dolly added she wanted to "make sure people know I didn’t turn the invitation down", but it simply came down to her busy schedule. 

"I was honoured and flattered that she even asked me," the singer told the publication. 

She noted that both she and the Princess of Wales shared a passion for helping children: Dolly with her Imagination Library, a book-gifting program, and Kate with her Early Childhood initiative. "So maybe that’s what we can talk about when we do have tea. I think she’s adorable and I hope someday to be able to sit down and have a good conversation with her," Dolly said.

Meeting the late Queen

While Dolly didn't get the chance to meet Princess Kate, she famously performed for the late Queen Elizabeth nearly 50 years ago. Dolly met the monarch on 16 May 1977 in Glasgow after she performed as part of the King’s Theatre’s all-star Royal Variety Show during the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. 

"When they told me on the plane I was appearing in front of the Queen I just jumped up and down telling everyone," she recalled to the Evening Times.

"They kept it a surprise from me until I was on the flight over," she added. Dolly said the experience was "just one of the biggest thrills of my life". 

"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’m going to meet one."