On Sunday night's American Idol, judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry were unable to perform their usual duties due to their attendance at King Charles III's Coronation Concert in the United Kingdom.
However, they made up for their absence by bringing back an extraordinary souvenir for the show: the newly-crowned King Charles III and Queen Camilla themselves.
Host Ryan Seacrest introduced a pre-taped package at the beginning of the show, featuring the surprise royal guests.
The clip begins with Lionel and Katy in a room that appears to be inside Windsor Castle, when King Charles and Queen Camilla unexpectedly enter.
King Charles jokingly asked Lionel: "I just wanted to check, how much, how long you'll be using this room for?" before expressing his gratitude for the singer’s performance at the coronation.
“Thank you so much for your brilliant performance and it was great," the King said.
© Chris JacksonLionel, who is said to have arranged the royal cameo through his relationship with Charles, mentioned having heard about a party. "Oh, you've heard about that?" responded the King.
Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran stepped in as guest judges for the May 7th episode of "American Idol," joining Luke Bryan to cover for the absent Kate and Lionel.
The two stars alongside Take That, and Andrea Bocelli were among the first acts confirmed for King Charles' coronation concert, which took place on May 7th at the Windsor Castle grounds.
The concert featured performances in front of 20,000 public attendees and invited guests, with Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer-songwriter Freya Ridings, and classical-soul composer-producer Alexis Ffrench also joining the lineup.
© WPA PoolDuring her set, Katy performed her hit songs "Roar" and "Firework," delighting the young royals in attendance. She expressed her excitement, saying: "I am so happy to celebrate this whole weekend, I got to bring my mom, she is so happy to be here. We got to stay in Windsor Castle – no big deal."
Lionel also managed to get the King and Queen Camilla on their feet with his performance.
Speaking backstage, Lionel commented on the King's new role, saying, "I think he's going to bring a new flavor."
Lionel continued: "A lot of people don't know this about him, but he has an amazing sense of humor that we haven't seen yet, so I think we may in the future see a little bit of a glimpse of that – and of course, inclusiveness."
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