There were reports earlier this year that the team planning the coronation for King Charles III had a hard time securing British talent for the concert taking place at Windsor Castle the next day. According to the Daily Mail, Charles hoped to see Adele and Ed Sheeran play the event, but they declined. Elton John said he would like to, but he had a scheduling conflict. Ultimately the organizers landed a few big names, including Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli, and members from beloved boy band Take That (who will likely be performing without Robbie Williams). In an interview with Extra, Perry noted that her performance gig comes with one coveted perk: an overnight stay at a suite in Windsor Castle.
“They said I’m allowed to stay at Windsor Castle, which I’m really excited for,” she said. “I might be posting a lot, because I’m going to be in a castle for real. This is wild.” So far, it’s unclear where she’ll be staying in the castle, which boasts about 1,000 rooms, though many of them have been turned into displays for the public. If the night’s other performers are stationed nearby, it could become one of history’s most famous slumber parties.
The May 7 concert will take place in front of 20,000 spectators who won the opportunity to buy tickets through a lottery. On Thursday, Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville said that he would be serving as the night’s host. There will be a light display similar to the one seen at Buckingham Palace the late queen’s jubilee in June 2022, as a part of a “Lighting Up the Nation” program that will involve different locations across the country.
Perry first met Charles during an event in 2019, and she later became an ambassador for the British Asian Trust, a charity that the now-king helped found in 2007. In her interview with Extra, Perry opened up about why she decided to perform at the concert. “I’m an ambassador to one of his foundations for the British Asian trust, which primarily focuses on ending child trafficking, which is a huge issue of our time that people don’t talk enough about, and it just aligned with all my values,” she said. “He asked me to sing and it all aligned.”
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