Buckingham Palace honours Dolly Parton with '9 to 5' at Changing of the Guard

Crowds outside Buckingham Palace heard a familiar melody on Wednesday morning: the brass strains of Dolly Parton's '9 to 5,' played by the Band of the Coldstream Guards during the Changing of the Guard ceremony. The tribute came a day after Parton died at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer, according to her publicist.

The royal family shared video of the performance on its official social media accounts, with a caption that read, "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 [love] you." The final phrase, accompanied by a heart emoji, nodded to Parton's song 'I Will Always Love You.'

King Charles and Queen Camilla were not at Buckingham Palace for the tribute; they are at Balmoral Castle in Scotland for the royal family's annual summer holiday. The Union flag flew over the palace instead of the Royal Standard, according to Town & Country.

Queen Camilla's literary charity, The Queen's Reading Room, also honored Parton on Wednesday, citing the Imagination Library's distribution of more than 300 million free books to children worldwide over three decades. "Dolly once said, 'You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children,'" the charity wrote. "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."

Parton's connection to the British royal family stretched back nearly five decades. In 1977, she performed at the Royal Variety Show in Glasgow during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, sharing a bill with the Jackson 5. Parton later described meeting the monarch as one of the biggest thrills of her life.

In 2023, during a trip to London to promote her album 'Rockstar,' Parton was invited to have tea with the Princess of Wales but could not attend due to scheduling conflicts. "I felt so bad…I couldn't even go," Parton said at the time. "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."

The tribute at Buckingham Palace followed an outpouring of remembrances from musicians and actors including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Lily Tomlin and Sally Field, according to 21Alive News. Parton died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on August 25, surrounded by loved ones, her representatives said.

“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 [love] you.”

: Caption on royal family social media post

“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.”

: The Queen's Reading Room statement