Dolly Parton Recalls Meeting Queen Elizabeth With Rare 1977 Throwback Photo

Dolly Parton marked Queen Elizabeth's passing by revisiting the time when she got to meet and perform for the late monarch during her Silver Jubilee celebration 45 years ago.

"I had the honor of meeting and performing for Queen Elizabeth II on my trip to London in 1977," Parton shared on Instagram Friday. "She carried herself with grace and strength her entire life. May she Rest In Peace. My thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time."

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The Tennessee songstress also shared a photo from their meeting. The Queen, wearing the Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara (one of her favorites), can be seen smiling at Parton in the black-and-white snap.

Parton recalled the royal occasion—including how she found out she was performing for the Queen on the flight—in an interview with The Tennessean earlier this year.

"When they told me on the plane I was appearing in front of the queen, I just jumped up and down telling everyone. It's just one of the biggest thrills of my life," she told the newspaper. "When I was a little girl I grew up in a world of kings and queens and princes and princesses in fairy tales. Now I was going to meet one."

Parton met the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, backstage after the concert.

"That was a great moment, I thought," she recalled to The Tennessean. "It's like I'm not a star worshiper, but as a kid, I was always intrigued by the kings and queens, and I always loved the magazines and the books and their costumes and all. Of course, they weren't like the old kings and queen of the old stories, but it still had that romantic feeling to me to think, 'That's the Queen of England.'"

Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully on September 8 at the age of 96.