Katy Perry Had An Awkward Run-In With King Charles And Queen Camilla (Literally)

In May 2023, King Charles III officially had his coronation. Pop star Katy Perry performed at the event and got historic royal accommodations — she got to stay in Windsor Castle! However, that caused an awkward run-in for Perry with King Charles and Queen Camilla.

While being interviewed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Perry explained that she brought her mom along as a special guest to stay in the castle. "And there [are] certain ways that you go when you're walking through Windsor Castle and actually, we went the wrong way after the show," she said. Perry and her team were hurrying through the halls of the historic castle because she was supposed to meet the king and queen to film a clip for "American Idol" and didn't have much time to do it.

"So I was running and my whole team was running, my glam squad, everyone was running," Perry said. "I ran straight into them, and I was like 'Oop! Went the wrong way!'" However, Charles and Camilla didn't mind. They had time to film their video for "American Idol" with Lionel Richie, who made the "American Idol" collaboration of royal proportions happen and who also performed at the coronation concert.

Her run-in with King Charles III and Queen Camilla after the coronation concert isn't the only funny thing that happened to Katy Perry while she was attending the coronation events. At the coronation itself, Perry struggled to find where to sit. A video of Perry's very confused moment went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. While speaking with Jimmy Kimmel, Perry explained she was trying to find her seat and said that except for the front two rows, "There's no assigned seating! Which was kind of interesting."

The king and Perry had actually met years before the coronation. Before he was King Charles, the then-prince co-founded the British Asian Trust. He and Perry had met at an event for the group in 2019. The year after, Charles chose Perry to be an ambassador for the organization "specifically to support our work reducing child trafficking and abuse across India over the next five years" (via British Asian Trust). 

Following the announcement that she was performing at the coronation concert, the "Dark Horse" singer told Extra about how she and Charles knew each other through the British Asian Trust. "He asked me to sing and it all aligned," Perry said. "I'm really excited ... I might be posting a lot because I'm gonna be in a castle, for real. This is wild."

For her performance during the coronation concert, Katy Perry sang two of her biggest hits: "Roar" and "Firework." Princess Charlotte of Wales proved she's a Perry fan during the coronation concert with a sing-along of "Roar," and it looked like her older brother Prince George of Wales may have been singing along too. Their mother Catherine, Princess of Wales, joined them in waving United Kingdom flags during Perry's song.

Between songs, Perry told the crowd how excited she was to be at the big event and how much she loved them. "I am so happy to celebrate this whole weekend, I got to bring my mom; she is so happy to be here," she said (via YouTube). The "Never Really Over" singer mentioned their set-up at the castle and thanked everyone for allowing her to join the festivities. Before singing "Firework," Perry added, "I would like to dedicate this next song to the king and to the work that we get to do together for the British Asian Trust and the Children's Protection Fund. Thank you for bringing out the firework in so many young people."

With a shout-out like that, it's no wonder King Charles III didn't mind that Perry took the wrong hallway in Windsor Castle.