King Charles & Queen Camilla Share Touching Tributes to Dolly Parton

Country music icon and philanthropist Dolly Parton passed away yesterday at the age of 80. In the hours following, tributes have poured in from around the world. That included Buckingham Palace, with King Charles and Queen Camilla sharing tributes on Instagram to the legendary entertainer. While Parton has never publicly met the King, she met his mother in 1977 and had to decline an invitation to tea from Princess Catherine in 2023 because of scheduling conflicts.

The British monarch dispatched his Band of the Coldstream Guards to play Parton's 1980 hit song, "9 to 5."

"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," the caption read.

Queen Camilla penned her own missive on her Instagram account, The Queen's Reading Room. Parton's initiative, the Imagination Library, expanded to the United Kingdom in 2007.

"Today we remember and celebrate the unwavering advocate for the joy and importance of reading—the icon, Dolly Parton," the tribute read. "Dolly once said, 'You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children'...but she gave it a pretty good go, donating more than 300 million books over 30+ years through her Imagination Library. By putting so many books into the hands of so many children, she gave the most precious of gifts: the chance to millions of young minds of opening the door to imagination, possibility and a lifelong love of reading. Thank you, Dolly!"

Parton's death was announced by her family, with her nephew, Bryan Seaver, speaking on their behalf. She passed away after a brief battle with cancer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, People reported. According to her wishes, only a private service for immediate family would be held. That didn't stop tributes from pouring in online, including from famous friends.

"I swear I believed Mrs. Dolly was immortal," Khloe Kardashian wrote. "Some people are so extraordinary, their existence feels almost impossible. Dolly was one of those people. A once-in-a-lifetime soul. A woman whose light, heart, talent and humanity changed this world forever. To have admired her was a gift. To have met her, spent time in her presence and somehow been lucky enough that Dolly Parton knew my name…I will never have words big enough for what that means to me. What an astronomical human being. What a legacy. What a loss. There will never be another Dolly."

Jennifer Lopez commented, "A masterclass in lighting up the whole world by being your true authentic self," while Sheryl Crow added, "It is hard to fathom a world without Dolly. I will miss knowing she is singing and bring joy here on earth but her legacy will continue on while she sings in the heavens. RIP wonderful Dolly. We love you."