Britney Spears, princess of pop, might not be the first person to pop into your head when you think of true royalty.
But the Oops I Did It Again songstress actually has a long history with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge – and even some with his wife, Kate Middleton.
And the prince himself once reportedly stood Britney up on a date.
If you’re wondering why anyone would ever turn down the opportunity to wine and dine the recently freed Ms Spears, the answer is that her intended beau was busy on a fox hunt that same day.
Britney herself opened up on the incident, which happened way back in 2002, on ITV’s Frank Skinner Show.
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Host and comic Frank quizzed the 20-year-old Britney – who was dating Justin Timberlake at the time – about her relationship with the 19-year-old William.
“Something that interests a lot of people in England is that you were supposedly quite friendly with Prince William.”
“Yeah, I was quite friendly with him,” Britney agreed.
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Frank was quick to clarify: “Oh, I don’t mean he was a boyfriend – but you exchanged emails, or something?”
To which Britney responded: “Yeah, it was just like, all blown out of proportion — we exchanged emails for a little bit and he was supposed to come and see me somewhere but it didn’t work out.
“So that was it. And everybody was like, ‘Ooh, she met him’, but nothing like that ever happened.”
Frank asked: “You were blown out by Prince William?” – and Britney replied: “Yeah.”
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“That’s terrible!” Frank sympathised, as Britney replied: “Nah, he’s a busy guy!”
“Go with the brother – he’s much more fun!” he quipped of Harry.
And it appears that might have been sage advice, as the Duke of Sussex obviously went on to marry fellow A-lister Meghan Markle – formerly an actress in US TV show Suits.
Britney’s online friendship with William began back in 1998, and was subsequently brought up as a topic in various interviews.
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She even called him “cute” in a 2000 interview on American network ABC – but, when told people were betting on their relationship, she responded: “Oh, they are? Well that’s cool, to be in any way associated with him!
“I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a princess?”
And by the time Prince William was ready to marry his bride Kate, Britney seemed as over him as could be, making sure there were no hard feelings between the pair as she invited them both along to see her Femme Fatale tour.
She said in a 2011 interview: “That would be amazing. That would be really crazy and cool. I think they’re a beautiful couple.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get to watch the wedding but I heard it was beautiful.”
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William isn’t Britney’s only royal connection, however, as she has also spoken out in support of his late mother, Princess Diana.
In May this year, at the height of her conservatorship battle from which she is now free, Britney posted a photo of Diana to her Instagram page, with the caption: “She never wanted to be the queen… she wanted to be the heart of the people.
“She was more than class… she was sheer genius down to the way she spoke to the way she mothered her children.
“The essence of being completely oblivious to her own power!!! 750 MILLION people watched her get married on TV. She will always be remembered as one of the most remarkable women to date.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
