King Charles and Queen Camilla stun Eurovision audience
They made their royal entrance.
Just days after the coronation ceremony, King Charles and Queen Camilla made a surprise cameo in a pre-recorded video aired at the 67th Eurovision song contest semi-finals on Tuesday evening.
In the clip, where they both appear for just a few seconds, Queen Camilla, dressed in a royal blue coat dress, is first seen peering over someone with a clipboard completing a checklist before Eurovision 2023 kicks off.
The camera then pans to King Charles, who is standing next to her, wearing a navy blue suit jacket and royal blue patterned tie.
They stand together backstage as people wearing elaborate costumes — 2022 Eurovision entrant Subwoolfer, from Norway — pass them both by.
The royal pair aren’t heard saying anything in the video, but it appeared that Charles was trying to murmur something to his wife while filming.
This year, Eurovision, a songwriting competition broadcast around the world, is being held in the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.
It is the first time in the past 25 years that the competition has been held in the UK, according to the BBC.
Last year’s winner, Ukraine, was supposed to host but was unable to do so this year because of the ongoing war with Russia, Deadline reported.
The contest is organized by the European Broadcasting Union, according to Eurovision’s website, and each participating broadcaster from 37 participating countries chooses a song and an artist to perform at the competition.
The contest takes place with three lives shows: the First Semi-Final on Tuesday evening, the Second Semi-Final on Thursday evening and the Grand Final on Saturday night.
There will be four presenters throughout this week’s competition, according to Deadline, including Ukranian singer Julia Sanina, English rapper Alesha Dixon, “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham and popular UK talk show host Graham Norton.
Newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla are certainly no strangers to Eurovision – in April, the pair visited Liverpool to dramatically unveil the stage to the public.
It may have been the same day they filmed their new pre-recorded cameo, as they were spotted wearing the same outfits in this video as the unveiling.
This past weekend was a big one for the couple, as King Charles was officially crowned as monarch in an elaborate coronation ceremony on Saturday at Westminster Abbey.
It marked the official transfer of power to him after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, this past September at the age of 96.
She had reigned for 70 years at the time of her death.
The ceremony was full of royal family members, including Charles’ son, Prince Harry, who arrived in the United Kingdom without his wife for the first time since the January release of his tell-all memoir, “Spare.”
However, he only stayed in the country for less than 24 hours, racing home to get back in time for his son Archie’s fourth birthday, which was the same day at the coronation.
It reportedly had some royal family members wondering why he “even bothered” to attend the festivities.
“One makes one’s choices,” a source close to the family told Vanity Fair. “To be honest there wasn’t much talk of Harry at all. The focus was very much on the occasion.”
On Sunday, a grand coronation concert took place on the grounds of Windsor Castle, drawing a crowd of over 20,000 people and performances from Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Even Princess Charlotte sang along to Perry’s lyrics as she performed her 2013 hit “Roar.”
During the event, Prince William also took to the stage to make an emotional speech congratulating his father while also paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
“As my grandmother said, when she was crowned, coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future, and I know she’s up there fondly keeping an eye on us, and she’d be a very proud mother,” William said.
Perry’s appearance at the gala also led to a surprise cameo by the king and queen on Sunday’s episode of “American Idol,” on which the “Firework” singer is a judge.
