Sheila Ferguson says singing for Prince Charles “ruined her love life for a while”.
The 74-year-old singer performed for the British Royal’s 30th birthday party alongside her Three Degrees bandmates in 1978, and she feared she’d “never get lucky again” after man avoided dancing with her in case they upset him.
Speaking to the Daily Express newspaper, she laughed: “That ruined my love life for a long time!
“I’d go to a discotheque and walk over and say to a guy, ‘You wanna dance?’ And he’d say, ‘I can’t dance with you, you’re Prince Charles’ favourite singer’.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ll never get lucky again!’ “
Despite the British Royal being single at the time, she never thought they had a romantic future together, and she saw him as a “playboy”.
Sheila – who still stays in touch with Charles – explained: “He was a fan, he liked our music and if he had a little crush, well so did millions of other guys!
“At the time I said, ‘Look y’all, there ain’t never gonna be a black Queen of England’, and I wasn’t going to be a notch on his bedpost.
“I stood firm on that because I felt he was a playboy and that’s not the type of guy that I go after.”
Sheila – who may have a new relationship on the horizon after reconnecting with an old friend – admitted she treated Charles as “another guy”, but she “became a babbling idiot” when he introduced her to Queen Elizabeth.
She recalled: She was lovely. She said, ‘Oh, so pleased to meet you,’ and I bowed and nodded and curtsied at the same time. Charles was just shaking his head as if to say, ‘That’s Sheila!’
“I’m just not used to that lifestyle and I’m not sure I could have withstood it quite frankly, because I am so in your face.”