Dolly Parton Reveals Why She Couldn’t Have Tea with Kate Middleton

Dolly Parton recently shared the story about how she came this close to meeting Kate Middleton. But sadly, as her story goes, the country singer won’t be crossing “Had a Cup of Tea with a Royal Princess” off her bucket list anytime soon.

While making a special appearance on BBC Radio 2 to promote her upcoming album Rockstar, which is coming out this November, Parton, 77, shared how she was personally invited by the Princess of Wales to have a cup of tea. 

Even though the “Jolene” singer had to politely decline, Parton still wishes to meet the royal princess one day. “This time, Lordy, I even got invited to have tea with Kate but I couldn't even go,” the singer-songwriter said on the radio show (per Fox News). “I thought it was very sweet and nice of her to invite me and one of these days I’m going to get to do that—that would be great.”

Parton has been pretty busy this year, with promoting her forty-ninth (yes, you read that right) solo album and all. For the project, the “Here You Come Again” singer had an opportunity to reunite with not one, but two of the remaining Beatles members (Paul McCartney, 81, and Ringo Starr, 83), who will come together to sing a cover of the single, “Let It Be.”