Buckingham Palace Guards Honor Dolly Parton With “9 to 5” During Changing the Guard
Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” rang out at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday as the Changing the Guard ceremony paid tribute to the country music legend following her death at age 80. The Band of the Coldstream Guards performed the instrumental in her honor, with scores of tourists gathered at the Palace railings to hear the special addition to the historic ceremony echo across the forecourt.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were not in residence at the time, currently away on their annual summer break at Balmoral, with the Union flag flying over the Palace rather than the Royal Standard. The Royal Family’s official account also shared a tribute online, writing, “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.”
Camilla’s charity, The Queen’s Reading Room, added its own tribute, praising Parton as an “icon” for her decades of literacy advocacy. In a statement shared to Instagram, the organization said, “Today we remember and celebrate the unwavering advocate for the joy and importance of reading — the icon, Dolly Parton.”
The charity went on to note that Parton had donated more than 300 million books over more than 30 years through her Imagination Library, adding that 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 died Tuesday after what her family described as a brief battle with cancer. The Buckingham Palace tribute follows a broader wave of remembrances from around the world, including New York City’s Empire State Building, which lit its tower pink Tuesday night in her honor, and continues a longstanding royal tradition of using the Changing the Guard ceremony to musically mark the passing of major cultural figures.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
