Dolly Parton hails Queen Elizabeth 'unseen angel' who will never really be gone

Dolly Parton has reflected on the grief she felt following the death of Queen Elizabeth II back in September.

Britain’s longest-serving monarch died aged 96 on September 8, with Buckingham Palace confirming that she ‘died peacefully’ at her beloved home in Balmoral.

But, country music icon Dolly, 76, doesn’t believe the Queen will ever really be gone.

Appearing on The One Show, the Jolene hitmaker recalled meeting the Queen after performing at The Royal Variety Performance in 1977, but she wasn’t actually told that she was going to be brushing shoulders with Her Majesty.

‘I got to meet the Queen! But I was so excited yet so nervous being a country girl, and all, but she was so wonderful and made me feel real special,’ she said.

‘That was one of the highlights of my whole life.’

Dolly added that she has a photo sitting on her dresser at home of her with the Queen, before explaining how much the Queen meant to her.

‘I loved her grace, I loved her style, like everyone else, I just thought that she shined to everybody. She was more than a Queen, just to say that. She was someone you felt like you knew and you felt like you cared about because she sincerely cared about people.

‘And so, I felt honoured that I just got to meet her because she was one of those people… well, you saw how the whole world mourned over her, you knew that’s how they all felt. Not just doing a celebration or saying, “Too bad, the Queen died”, people really were grieving that she was gone. A lot of the light went out in the world when she left us.’

Chatting to fellow guest and musician Gregory Porter, the 9 to 5 songstress said a certain tune reminds her of the Queen’s legacy.

‘But, she’s still around,’ Dolly added. ‘There’s a great old song called Precious Memories that talks about “unseen angels sent from somewhere to my soul”, so I always feel like our precious memories are like angels that are still around and you feel them and you feel like they’re never really gone.’

Following the death of the monarch earlier this year, Dolly paid tribute on social media, sharing a black and white photo of the pair together.

‘I had the honor of meeting and performing for Queen Elizabeth II on my trip to London in 1977,’ she penned.

‘She carried herself with grace and strength her entire life. May she rest in peace.’

Dolly concluded by sending her ‘thoughts and prayers’ to the Royal Family.

The One Show airs weekdays on BBC One.

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