Lionel Richie calls King Charles III a 'secret comedian' after 'American Idol' cameo

King Charles III is actually quite the comedian according to Lionel Richie, when asked about the monarch's surprise virtual appearance on "American Idol."

The "All Night Long" singer went right back to work on the singing competition following his visit to London earlier this month. He attended His Majesty's coronation in Westminster Abbey on May 6 and performed in front of thousands in the audience during the Coronation Concert on the grounds of Windsor Castle the day after.

He reflected on the memorable experience during an interview with Extra and said, "It was just being in it. I think the highlight for me was that I actually walked up to the King the day after the coronation and said, 'Would you like to be on "American Idol?"' and he said, 'Yeah.'"

"And the second thing that was the highlight was he said, 'Alright if I bring the Queen?' Uh, yeah," he added.

When asked how he got King Charles III and Queen Camilla to be on "American Idol" Richie revealed, "You know you always think you know someone but you never assume. But I've known the King quite a long time."

He continued that His Majesty "does have this amazing sense of humour that no one knows about" and called the monarch "a secret comedian."

"I'll just put that out there. For him to actually take the step and go out of the comfort zone — that was actually his comfort zone, he was hamming it up. But when he said yes I knew we were off to the races because it's so good for the world to know what the back slide of everybody is now."

Richie also called King Charles III, 74, and Queen Camilla, 75, "an amazing couple" and praised them for putting out "so much good" with the Prince's Trust. The 73-year-old singer was appointed as the First Global Ambassador and First Chairman of the Global Ambassador Group for the Prince's Trust in 2019.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla appeared at the start of the May 7 show during a live stream from Windsor Castle. In jest, His Majesty asked, "I just want to check how long you'll be using this room for?"

Jokes aside, the monarch thanked Richie and Katy Perry for their "brilliant" performances at the Coronation Concert which Her Majesty echoed and called "absolutely fantastic." The monarch then invited them to the concert's after-party as soon as they finish their "American Idol" duties.

Netizens were quick to share their surprise with one tweeting, "I was gobsmacked! For a second, I thought they were royal impersonators! That was cool, King Charles asking when will they be done with the room was the best!!!"

Another commented, "I loved it. A nice touch & bit of light-hearted fun."

For the historical concert which was hosted by "Downtown Abbey" actor Hugh Bonneville, Richie performed "Easy" before belting out his party hit "All Night Long." Meanwhile, Perry, who was also at the coronation service, performed "Roar" and "Firework."

The "Stuck On You" hitmaker had called his performance for the new King and Queen "an honour" and revealed that the monarch personally called him and asked that he perform. He said he and King Charles III have "been friends for a long time" and that he has "known him a long time." But getting a personal invite from the King is a whole different level.

Aside from Perry and Richie, others who performed for King Charles III and Queen Camilla included Take That, Nicole Scherzinger, Paloma Faith, Bette Midler, Olly Murs, Andrea Bocelli, Pete Tong, Sir Bryn Terfel, Alexis Ffrench, Lang Lang, Tiwa Savage, Steve Winwood, and The Coronation Choir.