Buckingham Palace honors Dolly Parton with moving musical tribute and touching nod to her iconic song.
The royal family honored Dolly Parton with a musical farewell outside Buckingham Palace, one day after the country music legend died at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
© Hoda DavaineDuring the traditional Changing of the Guard ceremony on Wednesday, August 26, the Band of the Coldstream Guards performed Parton’s 1980 hit “9 to 5” before crowds gathered outside the royal residence in London.
The royal family shared footage of the special performance on its official social media accounts alongside a message celebrating the joy and inspiration Parton brought to people around the world.
© James Manning - PA Images“Remembering the late, great Dolly, who brought joy, comfort and inspiration to so many, including the millions of children given free books through her Imagination Library,” the message read.
The tribute ended with the words “We will always” followed by a heart emoji and “you,” an unmistakable nod to Parton’s beloved song “I Will Always Love You.”
© James Manning - PA ImagesScores of tourists watched as the instrumental rendition echoed around the palace forecourt. Number 12 Company Irish Guards, serving as the new guard, marched from nearby Wellington Barracks to Buckingham Palace with the Band of the Coldstream Guards before taking over duty from the old guard.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were not at Buckingham Palace for the performance. The couple are spending their annual summer break at Balmoral, and the Union flag was flying over the palace instead of the Royal Standard.
© Jordan Pettitt - PA ImagesQueen Camilla’s literary initiative, The Queen’s Reading Room, also paid tribute to Parton and her decades of work promoting childhood literacy.
“Today we remember and celebrate the unwavering advocate for the joy and importance of reading, the icon, Dolly Parton,” the organization shared on Instagram Stories.
© James Manning - PA ImagesThe Queen’s Reading Room noted that Parton’s Imagination Library had donated more than 300 million books over three decades, adding: “By putting so many books into the hands of so many children, she gave the most precious of gifts.”
Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 after being inspired by her father, who never learned to read or write. The program sends free, age-appropriate books to enrolled children from birth until age five.
© James Manning - PA ImagesThe initiative later expanded beyond the United States. Parton traveled to London in December 2007 to announce its launch in the United Kingdom, where the first Imagination Library books were delivered in 2008.
A special history with the royal family Parton’s connection to the British royal family stretched back nearly five decades.
© CHANDAN KHANNAIn 1977, she took part in the Royal Variety Performance in Glasgow, which marked Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. Parton later described performing for and meeting the monarch as one of the biggest thrills of her life.
Despite worrying about royal protocol and whether she would curtsy correctly, Parton remembered Elizabeth as warm, sweet and understanding.
Following the Queen’s death in September 2022, the singer paid tribute to the late monarch on social media. “She carried herself with grace and strength her entire life,” Parton wrote at the time, adding that her thoughts and prayers were with the royal family.
© St. Louis Post-DispatchParton was also invited to have tea with the Princess of Wales during a promotional visit to London in 2023. She was unable to accept because of her busy schedule promoting her album “Rockstar,” but characteristically joked that Kate “wasn’t going to promote my rock album.”
The singer later invited Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to visit Dollywood, her theme park in Tennessee, saying she would give the young royals special treatment during their visit.
© CHANDAN KHANNAThe tribute at Buckingham Palace came hours after Parton’s representatives confirmed that she died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on August 25, surrounded by loved ones.
In a statement, her team remembered Parton for bringing “joy, laughter, hope and integrity” to everything she touched while highlighting the generosity that became as central to her legacy as her music.
By selecting “9 to 5” and its touching reference to “I Will Always Love You,” Buckingham Palace offered a distinctly British farewell to the woman celebrated around the world as the queen of country music.
