King's Guard Plays '9 To 5' Outside Buckingham Palace to Honor Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton, the country music icon, died of cancer on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at age 80. The following day, August 26, the King's Guard performed her 1980 signature song "9 To 5" outside Buckingham Palace, with the British royal family's official account releasing footage of the tribute. According to NME, it marks the second time the Guard has honored a music figure this way, following a rendition of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" after Ozzy Osbourne's death last year.
The tribute outside the palace
In the video, Guard members in their red ceremonial uniforms formed a semicircle outside Buckingham Palace and performed a brass-and-woodwind arrangement of "9 To 5." The song, originally written for the 1980 film of the same name, remains one of Parton's most widely recognized works.
The royal family's post said the tribute was to honor a musician who "brought joy, comfort and inspiration" to many, and specifically noted Parton's children's book charity, the Imagination Library.
Tributes from across the industry
NME compiled a list of public tributes that includes Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Cyndi Lauper, Oprah, Barbra Streisand, Jack White, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kelly Clarkson, Debbie Harry, Shania Twain, Barack Obama, and Beyoncé.
Parton's goddaughter Miley Cyrus wrote that she would love her forever and hoped to make her proud. Jack White performed "Jolene" during a London show as tribute. In the US, Donald Trump ordered flags flown at half-staff nationwide for a week and, in a post on Truth Social, called her "one of the greatest country singers of all time."
The Imagination Library — and unfinished work
Beyond music, Parton spent decades on philanthropy. Her Imagination Library has distributed roughly 300 million children's books worldwide. She also donated to disaster relief efforts, including for Hurricane Helene, and helped fund COVID-19 vaccine research.
Parton's team said she was "still working" up until the day she died, with projects in progress including an avatar-based virtual performance and a Broadway musical. NME's obituary, written by Jordan Bassett, revisited her 2014 Glastonbury performance and the moment before she sang 1971's "Coat Of Many Colors," when she spoke about her mother sewing the coat by hand.