Barbara Streisand, pictured, joked about being a Jewish princess after meeting Prince Charles for the first time. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

American actress and singer Barbara Streisand joked about becoming the first Jewish princess of Britain after meeting Prince Charles for the first time, according to a new book written by the prince’s friend.

Christopher Andersen revealed in his new book, Game of Crowns, out Tuesday, that Prince Charles and Streisand first met in 1974, when the prince was an officer docked in LA. The Prince of Wales was given his choice of any Hollywood star to meet and he chose the Funny Girl star, the New York Post‘s Page Six reported. Streisand seemed “nervous” and “tight-lipped” during the meeting, according to Andersen, but she later joked, “Who knows? If I’d been nicer to him, I might have been the first real Jewish princess.”

Britain’s crowned prince in fact had a decade-long “infatuation” with Streisand, Andersen claimed. He saw Streisand’s 1968 movie Funny Girl three times and kept a framed photo of the actress on on the wall of his room at the University of Cambridge and also in his private quarters in Buckingham Palace. He even told his personal valet: “Streisand is my only pinup.”

Streisand and Prince Charles met again in 1994 at a Los Angeles gala and “had a secret rendezvous at his suite in the secluded Bel-Air Hotel,”  according to British author Harold Brooks-Baker. The encounter was booked as a “private tea.”

An insider revealed that at another event 10 months later, this time in London, “The prince and Miss Streisand were very affectionate to one another.” Andersen wrote in his book that “another housekeeper described Charles and Barbra as acting ‘quite flustered’ when she surprised them in Charles’ study.”

Prince Charles developed such a close relationship with Streisand that Princess Diana “would not have been surprised if they had an affair,” according to the princess’ confidante, Lady Elsa Bowker. She added that although Prince Charles was already involved with his current wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, at the time, Bowles would have been “absolutely thrilled” about Charles spending time with Streisand.

“That would have excited her,” Bowker said.