King Charles’ Guard Pays A Stunning Tribute To Dolly Parton — And The Song Choice Has Fans Doing A Double Take. Well, that hits right in the feels… Just one morning after Dolly Parton’s reported death, a deeply unexpected tribute from King Charles’ guard has sent fans into an emotional spiral — and the song they chose made the moment even more unforgettable.

King Charles’ soldiers honored Dolly Parton by playing one of her biggest hits in front of Buckingham Palace the morning after her death.

After the legendary country star died on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at age 80, the royal family shared a video on Instagram of the Band of the Coldstream Guards playing the 1980 classic “9 to 5” in front of tourists during the Changing of the Guard ceremony outside the royal residence the following morning.

“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,” the royals wrote in the caption, referencing Parton’s book-giving initiative.

“We will always ❤️ you.”

Tributes to Parton from musicians, celebrities and famous friends, including Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Beyoncé, have poured in after her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in a video shared on social media on Tuesday.

Parton’s representatives later told PEOPLE that the “Jolene” singer’s death followed a “brief battle with cancer.”

Parton appeared to have a warm relationship with the British royals. In 2023, the Grammy winner had to turn down an invitation from Kate Middleton to come to tea because she was busy promoting her album, Rockstar.

“I felt so bad … I couldn’t even go!” she said on BBC Radio 2. “They had all this stuff set up. But I thought that was very sweet and nice of her to invite me to tea. One of these days, I’m going to be able to get to do that, wouldn’t that have been great?”

She then joked, “But she wasn’t going to promote my rock album, so I had to say no. I hope she hears it though.”

The following year, she said she’d love to host the Princess of Wales and her children, Prince George, 13; Princess Charlotte, 11; and Prince Louis, 8, who Kate shares with her husband, Prince William, at her Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee.

“The kids could go on all the rides and we would treat them like royalty!” she said, adding that she’d give the princess, 44, her mashed potatoes.

In 2025, Parton told HuffPost of her plans to meet the royals in an interview. “I think they’re involved a lot with our Imagination Library there. So I’m going to go over there and kind of really rub elbows with the royalty,” she said.

The Imagination Library, which sends free books to children from birth up to the age of 5, expanded to the U.K. in 2007.

Parton’s royal connections went back decades, however. She appeared at the Royal Variety Performance to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, calling it “one of the biggest thrills” of her life at the time, per the Glasgow Evening Times, and describing the late monarch as “very warm, very sweet” to Insider.

“Just meeting the Queen of England, just to meet a queen, it was amazing,” she said.