Country music legend Dolly Parton may be preparing for another chart-topping trip to London this fall, but there’s one engagement she’s hoping to add to her busy schedule: tea with Princess Kate Middleton.
The 11-time GRAMMY winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee shared that she was “honored and flattered” by an invitation from the Princess of Wales during her 2023 trip to the UK—but had to turn it down due to a packed promotional schedule for her Rockstar album.
“I only had one full day, and I didn’t have a second to do anything else besides work,” Parton explained in an interview with Saga Exceptional. Ever the joker, she added, “She wasn’t going to promote my rock album, so I had to say no.”
Dolly Parton’s Royal Tea May Still Be Brewing
Now, as she plans her October return to London, Dolly is hopeful the invitation still stands. “I don’t know if that offer still stands, but if she wants me and I’m there, I’ll be right there with tea bag in hand,” she told The Huffington Post with a laugh.
It’s a moment that would unite two powerful women in leadership, albeit in very different worlds—Dolly in music and philanthropy, Kate in royal public service.
A Royal Invitation to Dollywood
If the tea doesn’t steep in London, Dolly has a backup plan that’s pure Southern hospitality: inviting Kate and her children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—to Dollywood.
“They’re all invited,” Dolly said. “If they decide their schedule ever permits that, we will go all out to try to make it a royal treat for them.”
And yes, she’d keep it classic: “I wouldn’t put on any airs for them,” Dolly promised. “I’d just let them enjoy what we enjoy—and I’m sure that’s the way they would want it.”
From Buckingham Palace to the Smoky Mountains, Dolly Parton continues to prove that royalty comes in many forms—and hers includes big hair, big heart, and an open invite to one of the most iconic women in the world.