King Charles & Queen Camilla Appeared On 'American Idol' & People Are Calling It 'Cringey'

The royals made a virtual appearance from Windsor Castle.

Katy Perry, Queen Camilla, King Charles III & Lionel Richie on American Idol.

Katy Perry, Queen Camilla, King Charles III & Lionel Richie on American Idol.

Senior Writer

King Charles III and Queen Camilla made a surprise appearance on American Idol following the coronation concert on Sunday.

The royals joined Katy Perry and Lionel Richie in a virtual appearance from Windsor Castle and people online are blasting the cameo as both "awkward" and "cringey."

"Surprise! Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla join @lionelrichie and @katyperry from Windsor Castle! 👑," read the caption on a video posted on the American Idol Instagram page.

Perry and Richie are judges on American Idol and had to miss Sunday's show for the coronation concert.

However, they did join virtually.

In the clip, Perry and Richie are speaking to American Idol host Ryan Seacrest about the "incredible party" when Richie says they were thinking about something different they could bring to the show.

"Katy, excuse me. I have a surprise," Richie says as Charles and Camilla walk into the frame and Perry curtsies.

The king references Richie's song All Night Long before asking the musicians if they were almost done.

"I just wanted to check, how long you will be using this room for?" King Charles asked as the audience laughs, and Richie notes they have to "give the room up right away."

"Thank you so much for your brilliant performance, and Katy, it was wonderful," the king then says to Richie and Perry as Camilla joins in with the praise.

They continue to joke about the "party next door" and Perry and Richie saying they will head over as soon as they're done with American Idol.

Many people who watched the clip were unimpressed with the surprise appearance and called it "embarrassing" and "awkward."

One person noted it was "desperate" and "cringe."

Another Twitter user said the American Idol bit was "tacky" and "just sad."

Others called out the double standard and compared the media coverage of the king and queen's appearance on American Idol versus anything Prince Harry and Meghan Markle do.

Another person tweeted something similar and how poorly Meghan Markle was treated when she appeared on America's Got Talent from her couch.

Aside from the American Idol bit, Perry and Richie performed at a star-studded concert on Sunday alongside a number of other acts.

Richie performed his hit songs "Easy Like Sunday Morning" and "All Night Long," according to CNN, while Perry sang "Firework" and "Roar."

It looks like the young royals are big fans of Perry, with many people tweeting videos of Princess Charlotte signing along to the musician's songs at the concert.

The Muppets stars Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy also made an appearance at the event. Top Gun actor Tom Cruise joined in as well and told King Charles that he could be his "wingman anytime."

The coronation concert followed King Charles' coronation on Saturday.

Perry also made headlines at the coronation after a video of her struggling to find her seat went viral.

  • Senior Writer

    Asymina Kantorowicz (she/her) was a Senior Writer for Narcity Media. She has worked at Yahoo Canada, CTV News Vancouver Island, CTV News Channel, and CHCH News. Over the past eight years, she took on various newsroom roles and helped produce award-winning newscasts. Loving the fast-paced environment of any newsroom, she helped cover stories like the 2016 royal visit to Victoria, the 2019 B.C. manhunt, and provincial elections. She had an MA in journalism and a BA in media from Western University. She moved from Toronto to Victoria a few years ago and loved being close to the ocean.

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