CNN
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Dolly Parton found herself in the rare position of having to politely decline an invitation to have tea with the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton during a recent trip to London.
Speaking with BBC Radio 2’s Sally Traffic in an interview that aired on Saturday, Parton lamented about how little time she had to enjoy the sights and see people while in London for work.
“I even got invited to have tea with Kate and I felt so bad, I couldn’t even go,” Parton said, adding that her team “had all this stuff set up” while she was in town promoting her upcoming rock album “Rockstar.”
Parton said that while she thought the Princess’s gesture was “very sweet and nice,” she went on to joke that “she wasn’t going to promote my rock album, so I had to say no!”
“But I hope she hears it, though!” Parton said with a laugh.
The country superstar indeed has had a busy year promoting the hotly anticipated album, which boasts collaborations with fellow music legends such as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Debbie Harry and Stevie Nicks.
Her first foray into rock music, “Rockstar” is a concept album inspired by her 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – an honor she notoriously, albeit politely, tried to decline at first, saying in a statement on her social media at the time that she didn’t feel she’d “earned that right.”
As far as Parton’s brushes with royalty go, she has previously had the honor of meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II when she performed at the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebration in 1977.
And even though the “Jolene” singer missed her chance to sip tea with Princess Kate this time around, she hopes to score another invite in the future.
“One of these days, I’m going to be able to get to do that,” she told Traffic on Saturday. “Wouldn’t that have been great.”
“Rockstar” will be released globally on November 17.
