Dolly Parton, Queen of Country, met Queen Elizabeth II at an event in Glasgow, Scotland, held to celebrate the monarch’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, which marked 25 years on the British throne.
Parton, who died Aug. 25 at 80 after privately battling cancer, later told the Glasgow Times her management had kept it a secret that she would be performing for the queen during her time in the United Kingdom.
“When they told me on the plane I was appearing in front of the queen, I just jumped up and down telling everyone,” Parton said, adding the meeting was “one of the biggest thrills of my life.”
Parton recalled thinking: “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.”
In a separate interview with Insider in 2023, Parton spoke of how nervous she was about meeting the queen.
“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 said. “And just meeting the Queen of England, just to meet a queen, it was amazing.”
The meeting happened during Parton’s first trip to Scotland. Following her performance there she visited London to promote her music.
Tennessee declared Jan. 19, 2026, “Dolly Parton Day” in honor of the country music icon’s 80th birthday. Revisit her legendary career dating back to the 1960s, starting with her performance of “Don’t Try to Cry” in the RCA Records show during the D.J. Convention on Oct. 21, 1967, at Municipal Auditorium.
(Jimmy Ellis / The Tennessean)
Porter Wagoner, left, and Dolly Parton walk on stage to accept their vocal group of the year award during the second CMA Awards at the Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 18, 1968. Presenter Chet Atkins, right, waits on the duo.
(Bill Preston / The Tennessean)
Dolly Parton offers a video remembrance during Jeannie Seely’s 5,398th Opry Show: A Celebration of Life for “Miss Country Soul” at Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Aug. 14, 2025. Seely died on Aug. 1, 2025.
(Denny Simmons / The Tennessean)
In June 2022, as the queen marked 70 years on the throne, Parton again celebrated the milestone. This time she appeared in a video message, congratulating the monarch on her Platinum Jubilee.
“I want to congratulate you on your Platinum Jubilee and your 70th year as monarch,” Parton said. “I just wanted to say thank you for being wonderful, you are more than pearls and you are more than platinum.”
Observant watchers of the video were quick to point out that Parton had a framed photo of their 1977 meeting on a table behind her as she spoke. In the black and white image, Parton is seeing beaming at the monarch.
“You have been a shining diamond in this world for so long and everybody loves you. And I will always love you too,” Parton said.
When Britain’s longest-serving monarch died just a few months later in September, the singer was among the stars around the world paying tribute.
“I had the honour of meeting and performing for Queen Elizabeth II on my trip to London in 1977,” Parton wrote, alongside an image of them together. The pair met backstage at the King’s Theatre following a show featuring comedy and music, including a performance from the Jackson 5.
Parton said the late queen “carried herself with grace and strength her entire life.”
