Broadway legend has joked that she could have become a member of the after she and struck up a close friendship. Back when he was still the Prince of Wales, Charles is said to have struck up a close friendship with Barbra in the 1970s - and the pair have both since reflected warmly on their close bond.

The King, who was 26 at the time, was serving in the Royal Navy when he met Barbra in California. At the time, Barbra - who was then 32 - was recording new music as well as filming the sequel to her hit movie, Funny Girl.

According to American author Christopher Andersen in his upcoming biography, The King: The Life of Charles III, Charles was a huge fan and had seen Funny Girl three times.

The book also revealed that Charles had a framed photograph of the star hung in his rooms at Cambridge University, which later went up on the wall of his bedroom in Buckingham Palace after his graduated in 1970.

Shared in the 2018 book, Game of Crowns, Lady Elsa Bowke - a close confidante of the late Diana, Princess of Wales - claimed the future King was so close to the iconic performer that the late royal "would not have been surprised if they had an affair".

The King once allegedly wrote: "People look at me in amazement when I say she is devastatingly attractive with a great deal of sex appeal," in his navy journal.

Previously appearing on ITV's Lorraine, Barbra said: "He [King Charles] asked to meet me. So he came to the recording studio... I offered him a sip of tea and I thought, 'They didn't have to test me for poison or something? No.'" She added: "We became friends. And I loved spending some time at Highgrove for a weekend fundraiser and going through his gardens."

She also remembered: "I walked by [the assistant's] room and I saw this bouquet of flowers and I said, 'Who sent me that?' and she said, 'A fan called Charles.' And I said, 'Really? Let me see the note. And there was [Prince Charles's] seal." Noticing that the flowers looked unique because they were from the royal gardens, rather than a florist. She noted: "They were from his gardens and it's a different look-the flowers-when they are garden flowers."

Barbra then added: "She just mistook it for a fan. It was so funny, I thought. That's Prince Charles! That was before he met Diana. I had a very funny line on stage when he came to see the show. I said, 'You know, if I played my cards right, I could have wound up being the first Jewish princess!'"