President Donald Trump has ordered flags to be lowered at half mast to honor country music icon Dolly Parton after her death aged 80.Her death was announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, in an Instagram video posted Tuesday afternoon. Parton was widely regarded as the Queen of Country Music, known for her timeless hits including “9 to 5,” “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You.”Trump paid tribute to the singer after Tuesday’s announcement, writing on Truth Social that flags across the country will be lowered in her honor.“Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away,” he wrote. “This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”He continued: “In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for a one week period beginning tonight at 6:00PM.”President Donald Trump ordered American flags to be lowered to half mast to honor the Queen of Country after her death aged 80 (Getty Images)“Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he concluded.Seaver said on behalf of the Parton family that the country legend had asked him to record the video announcement to be posted in the event of the death.“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago,” Seaver said. He served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades.“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,” he continued. A cause of death was not revealed. However, Parton had been open about struggling with her health in recent months, forcing a slew of concert and public appearance cancellations.Parton had been open about her declining health in recent months. The singer had shared an update on her health August 21, acknowledging her recent decline after the March 2025 death of her husband, Carl Dean, telling People that she had been dealing with “health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”Most recently, Parton pulled out of attending the opening night of a new attraction at Dollywood, her Tennessee theme park, last week. The singer suffered dizziness and dehydration and her doctor advised her against travel.More follows on this breaking news story. Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent