Dolly Parton Wants Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Kids to Visit Dollywood
"I would absolutely love for them to come to Dollywood, that would be fantastic!"
The Queen of country herself just extended an invitation to another royal family.
Speaking to Closer, Dolly Parton said that she would "love" to welcome Prince William and Kate Middleton, and their children, George, Charlotte, and Louis for a visit to Dollywood in Tennessee.
"Oh, I would absolutely love for them to come to Dollywood, that would be fantastic!" she said. "The kids could go on all the rides and we would treat them like royalty."
Naturally, Parton would give the royals her own version of the royal treatment. "I’d give Kate my mashed potatoes—I wouldn’t put on any airs for them," she said. "I would just let them enjoy what we enjoy, and I’m sure that’s the way they would want it. I would love to have those kids at Dollywood."
This wouldn't be the first time the royals have shown their love of American music stars. In fact, earlier this year, William took the three kids to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour—so maybe a trip to Dollywood isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Parton's sweet invite comes after the singer revealed that she was forced to turn down a “very sweet and nice” invitation from Middleton. Apparently, the princess invited Parton to tea back in 2023. "I felt so bad, I couldn't even go because they had all this stuff set up," she said, explaining that she was too busy promoting her album Rockstar.
Parton previously told Business Insider that she had always been "fascinated" by the royals. “I remember as a child being fascinated with the kings and queens and all their flamboyant clothes, people living in another world with riches and crowns and jewelry and all that,” Parton said.
In 1977, she had the chance to meet Queen Elizabeth II, and she was pleased to learn that she wasn't quite as intimidating as she had imagined. “When I actually got to meet her, she was very sweet," she said.
She went on, "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. And if somebody made a mistake, it was okay. 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.”
In 2022, Parton shared a touching image of the meeting as a tribute to the queen on her death.