Dolly Parton invites Wales family to hometown in Tennessee for Thanksgiving

Country music superstar Dolly Parton has invited the Prince and Princess of Wales to her hometown outside Knoxville, Tennessee, for Thanksgiving.

Dolly gave an interview with Closer magazine where she revealed that she would love to host the Wales family at her theme park, Dollywood, for Thanksgiving at the end of November.

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“Oh, I would absolutely love for them to come to Dollywood, that would be fantastic!

“The kids could go on all the rides, and we would treat them like royalty! I’d give Kate my mashed potatoes – I wouldn’t put on any airs for them. 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,” she said.

Walking through Dollywood in the spring of 2024. Photo: Brittani Barger

The invitation comes after Dolly was unable to meet the Princess of Wales in 2023 when the royal extended an invitation for Dolly to join her for tea at Buckingham Palace due to a scheduling conflict.

At the time, Parton called the Princess “very sweet” and expressed that she “felt so bad” about saying no to Catherine.

It remains to be seen if the royals take her up on her offer, but if they do, it will most likely be under the radar.

But who is Dolly Parton and why would the Princess of Wales want to meet her?

Dolly Parton was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1946 to a poor family. She graduated from Sevier County High School in 1964 and told her classmates at graduation that she was going to Nashville the next day to become a country music star.

Dolly Parton performing “Rocky Top” in Neyland Stadium in 2023 during a University of Tennessee football game. Photo: Brittani Barger

Dolly, a royal in her own right in East Tennessee, became a huge success and has continuously given back to her hometown and East Tennessee since making it big. She is credited for Sevier County becoming the tourist destination it is today. She purchased the Silver Dollar City theme park, transforming it into Dollywood that brings people from all over the world to visit Pigeon Forge.

She is a huge philanthropist who gives back to her home state and children constantly. Through her work, Dolly created the literacy programme the Imagination Library which provides each child under the age of five with a book each month until they enter Kindergarten. The programme began in Tennessee and has now spread worldwide.

Dolly was instrumental in providing funds for research for the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic and recently donated $1 million of her own money (and an additional $1 million from the Dollywood Foundation) to hurricane relief efforts in the Smoky Mountains after a once-in-a-thousand-year hurricane struck the mountains, causing mass flooding and destroying towns and roads.