Pop Idols sing by royal appointment

Will: Meeting Prince Charles will be "the ultimate test"

Prince Charles will join thousands of Pop Idol fans at a charity concert featuring record-breaking singer Will Young and the other finalists from the TV talent show.

The show is part of the 10 Pop Idol finalists' UK tour and is expected to raise more than £250,000 for the prince's charity, The Prince's Trust.

Young, whose debut release was the fastest-selling single in UK chart history, is also set to sing for members of the royal family and thousands of members of the public at a concert to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee in June.

Young said it was "a huge honour" to perform for the prince and raise money for the cause at April's charity show.

Nerves

He could find Prince Charles even more intimidating than Pop Idol judges Simon Cowell and Pete Waterman, he said.

Gareth Gates: Hoping for chart success

"Although we've all had great training in controlling our nerves after weeks in front of the judges and a huge TV audience, I'm sure that this will be the ultimate test," Young said.

He sold more than 1.1 million copies of his double A-side single Evergreen/Anything Is Possible in its first week of release.

Music industry experts predict he could sell 400,000 more by the end of the second week.

Another Pop Idol contestant, Rik Waller, is also set to be in the top 10 with his debut single - but he will not be performing at the finalists' concerts.

He was forced to pull out of the show due to illness, and was replaced by Darius Danesh, who will be performing.

'Make a difference'

Runner-up Gareth Gates will also sing, and could have a hit himself by the time of the concert after his single hits shops on 18 March.

"We all hope that the prince enjoys himself, and that we are able to raise enough money to help make a difference to the lives of some of the people involved in the Trust," he said.

Young and Gates both visited young people on one of the charity's schemes in east London earlier this week.

Young will also be on a star-studded bill at a Jubilee concert in the Buckingham Palace gardens on 3 June.