King Charles made 'damn awkward' surprise appearance on American Idol which left viewers cringing

American Idol were stunned yesterday (Sunday 7 May) when King Charles made a surprise appearance on the show.

King Charles III has had a busy weekend with Saturday’s Coronation at Westminster Abbey and the special star-studded concert the following day at Windsor Castle.

A number of American names were involved in the celebrations, including Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who took to the Union Jack-shaped stage last night to perform for the new monarch.

Perry, who is an ambassador for the British Asian Trust, was even spotted in the crowd at the Coronation – with viral footage showing her struggling to find her seat in the historic church.

But Charles ended up returning the favour, and made a special surprise appearance on American Idol alongside Perry and Richie, who are judges on the show with Luke Bryan.

The trio shared a message with US viewers in a pre-taped segment, with Richie telling the studio they wanted to do something ‘different’ with the show.

“I have a surprise,” he said, as Charles and wife Camilla shuffled into the frame.

ABC

“I just wanted to check how long you’ll be using this room for?” Charles asked Richie, before laughing.

“Are we making too much noise?” Perry asked.

Charles told the stars they gave a ‘brilliant performance’ at the concert, before Richie added: "As soon as we finish, we're coming to the party.”

The royals then left the screen, while Perry and Richie left guest judges Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morrisette to it across the pond.

While the American Idol audience could be heard whooping and cheering as Charles and Camilla appeared, over on Twitter, people admitted they’d been left ‘cringing’ by the stunt.

ABC

One person said: “So in order to get KATY PERRY & LIONEL RICHIE to perform at the coronation, the newly crowned king and queen of Great Britain and several commonwealth nations…had to appear on American Idol? …Just pack this monarchy thing up now, this level of cringe isn’t fair on the rest of us.”

Someone else said that Charles made the ‘most awkward cameo ever’, while a third wrote: “Weird. So cringe and desperate.”

Another agreed: “That seemed so awkward and weird to me.”

Not holding back, one other commented: “The Sausage King and his side piece just made an appearance on American idol with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie and man it was so damn awkward. Lolol.

"Katy Perry kept bobbing up and down in a frantic curtsey. It was pretty gross.”