A previous interview by Britney Spears has resurfaced, showing how close she was to dating Prince William.
The new Prince of Wales continues to mourn his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, following her death on Thursday. He has had the support of his wife and mother to his three children - George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Louis, 4 - throughout the hardship, with William and Kate also joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
But prior to his relationship to Catherine, Princess of Wales, the prince is said to have come close to dating pop superstar Britney Spears.
An interview from the songstress has resurfaced in which she claimed the pair shared a number of emails in a so-called "cyber romance" when they were teenagers. The Toxic singer, 40, told talkshow host Frank Skinner in 2002 how she had been involved in a number of email exchanges with Will and had even organised to meet him while she was on tour in the UK.
However, while Brit was at the height of her fame a the time following hit singles such as Baby One More Time, she was given the cold shoulder by the royal as he ditched her prior to their date.
Britney, who was 20 at the time, told the host: "We exchanged e-mails for a little bit and he was supposed to come and see me somewhere but it didn't work out."
Frank then asked: "You were blown out by Prince William?" To which Britney replied: "Yeah."
At the time of the interview, Britney was dating NSync star Justin Timberlake. She told the comedian host she had no idea why Will changed his mind on meeting, but The Sun said at the time he had decided to go fox hunting instead.
A year later, William's relationship with his now-wife was publicly announced.
Prior to Britney's admission, there had been rumours growing about the pair's internet relationship. And the speculation was discussed in a published book by royal biographer Christopher Andersen last year.
In his book Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan, he wrote: "[William and Spears] tried to get together back when they were young.
"There may have been phone conversations, but I don't recall that they ever actually managed to get together during that period."
