Dolly Parton once revealed that she was extremely nervous about meeting Queen Elizabeth because of her fear of not performing proper curtsy manners. The meeting between the two legends took place in May 1977, when Dolly performed at the Royal Variety Show at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. The event was held to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee and her 25th year. The show also featured the Jackson 5, Scottish vocalist Sydney Devine and English comedian Frankie Howerd, making it a star-studded lineup.
The “9 to 5” songwriter later explained that her worries disappeared when she finally met the Queen backstage. Speaking to Business Insider in 2023, the artist recalled Queen Elizabeth as warm, sweet and understanding. Dolly said she had been afraid of bending incorrectly while performing the traditional curtsy, but she quickly realized that the monarch did not seem worried about small mistakes.
“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. That’s just something she had to do,” she recalled in 2023. “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. And just meeting the Queen of England, just to meet a queen, it was amazing.”
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. We will always ❤️ you. pic.twitter.com/wdKHKGALlH
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) August 26, 2026
After Queen Elizabeth passed away on September 8, 2022, the Queen of Country shared a photograph from their meeting and praised the monarch for carrying herself with grace and strength. “May she rest in peace,” she said to conclude her post. Then, following Dolly Parton’s passing on August 25, 2026, the British royal family honored her at Buckingham Palace by having the Coldstream Guards perform her famous 1980 hit “9 to 5.”
“We will always love you,” the royal family said with a heart emoji in their caption honoring the singer.