Dolly Parton has rubbed elbows with a lot of fellow celebrities during her life in the spotlight, but unfortunately, a date with the royal family just wasn't meant to be — at least not for now. In a new interview, Dolly revealed that she turned down an invitation to have tea with Kate Middleton, and it doesn't sound like it was anything personal. In fact, the legendary country singer certainly seems to have a good reason for not making time for Kate in her busy schedule right now.
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Dolly shared the news while promoting her new album.
She happened to be in the United Kingdom on a press tour for her upcoming album, Rockstar, which hits stores November 17. During an interview with Claudia Winkelman on a BBC radio show, Dolly revealed that she'd actually been invited to the palace while she was in the UK.
"I even got invited to have tea with Kate. I felt so bad," she said. "I couldn't even because they had all this stuff set up, but I thought that was very sweet and nice of her to invite me to tea. One of these days I'm going to be able to get to do that, wouldn't that have been great?"
But why couldn't she make it?
Unfortunately, the royals wouldn't allow Dolly to do the thing she came to the UK to do.
"She wasn't going to promote my rock album so I had to say no. I hope she hears it, though," Dolly said of Kate.
Considering how particular the royal family is about who they speak with — and what is said during that conversation — it's not surprising Kate wouldn't be able to promote the album. But it's still a bummer, because seeing those two together would have been so fun!
This wouldn't have been Dolly's first brush with royalty.
After Queen Elizabeth's death in September 2022, Dolly shared a photo of the two of them together on Instagram, along with a message about when they met.
"I had the honor of meeting and performing for Queen Elizabeth II on my trip to London in 1977," Dolly wrote at the time. "She carried herself with grace and strength her entire life. May she Rest In Peace. My thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time."
Dolly's been pretty busy as it is.
Considering that she's in promo mode for this new album, it makes sense she would only be able to schedule events into her UK trip that would directly help her current goal. And when she's not talking about Rockstar, she's busy launching her new line of dog apparel and accessories, Doggy Parton. Basically, this lady is low on free time.
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Hopefully, these two will eventually have the chance to cross paths.
Perhaps the next time Will and Kate happen to be in the US they could pop by at Dolly's house in Nashville? It definitely sounds like the singer would be up for a couple of royal visitors, especially after she had to turn them down this time around.
