Britney: Wills stood me up

Britney Spears has told of her email conversations with Prince William, and how the pair even arranged a date - until the Prince blew her out because he was a "busy guy".

The pin-up singer, who once described William, 19, as "gorgeous" and said she would love to marry him, reveals her cyberspace conversations on TV's Frank Skinner Show. The interview is proof for the first time that the pair did make contact over the internet - even though in the past Buckingham Palace has flatly denied it.

In a transcript of the talk - to be aired on ITV1 on Saturday - obtained by the Evening Standard, Skinner asks: "A thing that interests a lot of people in England is that you were supposedly quite friendly with Prince William. Do you remember him?"

Britney hesitates, before replying: "Quite friendly with him?"

Skinner continues: "Oh, I don't mean he was a boyfriend but you, kind of, exchanged a few emails, or something?"

At that point, the 20-year-old spills the beans. Spears says that after a string of emails, their relationship even got as far as arranging to meet. But then - in a move that is sure to astonish teenage boys across the nation - Prince William changed his mind because he was "too busy".

She said: "Yeah - it was just, like, all blown out of proportion. We exchanged emails for a little bit and, er, he was supposed to come and see me somewhere but it didn't work out. So that was it, so, and everyone was like 'Oh, she met him'. And nothing like that ever happened."

Skinner persists: "You were blown out by Prince William?"

"Yeah!" answers Spears. The interviewer adds: "That's terrible". "No - he's a busy guy," replies the singer.

Skinner then consoles her with: "Oh, what does he do with his time? I suppose he was fox hunting was he?" And Spears answers: "Oh, I don't know." At this point, a member of the studio audience reported, Spears "looked embarrassed and cringed".

The spectator said: "She implied they emailed each other a lot. She was the perfect gent, so to speak. She didn't want to reveal too much about their relationship."

In a reference to 17-year-old Prince Harry's under-age drinking and cannabis smoking, Skinner then suggests Britney might find William's younger brother more interesting: "Go with the brother - he's much more fun." The jest seemed to escape the American, who failed to respond.

Buckingham Palace is certain to be dismayed by Spears's admission. It has always said that the persistent rumours of a cyberspace "romance" were just that - rumours, or, at best, record company hype.

Later in the interview - which was recorded at studios in Shepherd's Bush - Skinner asks her whether she had sex with her boyfriend, 'N-Sync singer Justin Timberlake - since she famously declared in the past that she was a virgin.

Answering, Britney groans: "I wish I had never said anything about it."

Interviewer and interviewee rounded off the night with a duet of Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe.

Britney caused a commotion on her visit to London to promote her single, Overprotected, from the moment she arrived at Heathrow draped in a blanket and was driven away in a cavalcade of Mercedes.

The singer, who has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, commandeered an extraordinary number of dressing rooms for her entourage during an appearance on Top of the Pops last week, and sent the paparazzi into a frenzy when she visited the West End for dinner.

Despite the press attention, she still managed to enjoy a bit of shopping.

The Frank Skinner Britney Special goes out on Saturday at 9.45pm.

? Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne is the star of a new fly-on-the-wall TV show which casts him as a family man. The weekly programme, The Osbournes, follows the now 53-year-old former Black Sabbath frontman as he deals with life at home with wife Sharon and their two teenage children. In one scene Birmingham-born Ozzy, famous for biting the head off a live bat on stage, gives his daughter Kelly safe sex advice. In another the tattoo-covered rocker gets upset when Kelly comes home with a tattoo. The show starts on MTV next month.