Dolly Parton said she recently turned down an offer from the Princess of Wales to have tea during her trip to the United Kingdom because her schedule was full and there was no time.
During the 77-year-old country music singer’s recent appearance on Claudia Winkleman’s BBC Radio 2, Parton talked about being in London to promote her new album “Rockstar” and bemoaned that she didn’t even have time to visit with Kate Middleton.
“This time, Lordy, I even got invited to have tea with Kate [Middleton],” the “9 to 5” star said during the interview. “And I felt so bad… I couldn’t even go! They had all this stuff set up.”
Dolly Parton revealed why she turned down tea with the Princess of Wales while promoting her upcoming 'Rockstar' album featuring Sting, Pink, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. https://t.co/g0wT4RjMZF
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 29, 2023
“But I thought that was very sweet and nice of her to invite me to tea,” she added. “One of these days I’m going to be able to get to do that, wouldn’t that have been great?”
The “Jolene” hitmaker then joked that she turned down the invite because the Middleton “wasn’t going to promote my rock album so I had to say no. I hope she hears it, though.”
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While she wasn’t able to visit with the members of the royal family on her recent trip, Parton has performed for the royal household, though the last time was more than 25 years ago, People magazine noted.
She was one of the performers at the late Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. During a recent interview, the singer-songwriter recalled how nervous she was to curtsy in front of the queen.
“Even though you have to do the protocol, you have to bow and all that, I could tell that she didn’t care about that,” Parton told Insider. “That’s just something she had to do. And if somebody made a mistake, it was OK.”
“I was scared to death that I was not going to know how to curtsy, that I wasn’t going to bend right, but she was just very warm, very sweet, and I could tell she was a very giving person,” she added. “And just meeting the Queen of England, just to meet a queen, it was amazing.”
“Rockstar” will be released on Nov. 17 and features contributions from music legends like Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Sting, Simon Le Bon, and many more.
Related: Dolly Parton Makes Threesome Joke About Garth Brooks And Wife Trisha Yearwood At ACM Awards