Prince William felt like a pop star in his youth, but Meghan Markle’s excessive friendliness made him uneasy, says royal source.

The 1990s had many popular teen idols like Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Robbie Williams from Take That, and members of boy bands like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

But there was another prince sweeping the nation with his burgeoning good looks, beachy blonde hair and cheeky smile.

This phenomenon was called Willsmania by the media. Magazines worldwide, such as Hello!, Celebrity Focus, People, and YM, regularly featured Prince William on their covers.

However, at the young age of 15, William was struggling with the heartbreaking loss of his mother, Princess Diana. He found himself unprepared for the overwhelming attention from screaming fans and constant fan mail that came with his newfound teenage heartthrob status.

As William celebrates his 43rd birthday he is still well-loved by the public and a recent YouGov poll found him to be the most popular living member of the Royal Family, with a 71 per cent popularity rating.

Royal author Tom Quinn wrote in his book Yes, Ma’am: ‘Being a young king in waiting is rather like being a pop star.

‘The position, the glamour and money associated with it does strange things to people.

‘At Kensington Palace, a number of women, including female staff, were thought to have flirted with William.

‘One or two female members of staff were moved to other duties as a result.’

The Netflix series The Crown captures the moment throngs of excitable young women lined the streets to film William’s trip to Vancouver at the peak of Willsmania.

The Mail’s Richard Kay wrote at the time how there were ‘crowds of teenage girls weeping, screaming and jostling to just catch a glimpse of their idol’.

William, with a thick mop of blondish hair, would glance down, hiding behind his fringe, and smile shyly in response to all the attention.

One young girl in the crowd even suggested there should be a holiday in honour of the prince.

Sixteen-year-old Liana Ramano said: ‘They should declare a national public holiday called William Day.’

A group of 5,000 girls, at one point during the trip, greeted the bashful prince with cards, flowers and their outstretched hands.

It was during this trip that the heir to the throne was dubbed a ‘British Leonardo DiCaprio’.

At the time William was said to be unsettled by the popstar welcome, which was portrayed in the series by actor Ed McVey’s shy body language. 

An onlooker said: ‘The actor played the blushing and embarrassed Prince perfectly while the girls in the crowd were going wild.’

The main purpose of the trip was to give Charles, William and Harry some private time together in the Rocky Mountain ski resort of Whistler. But before they could take to the slopes, the trio spent 24 hours in Vancouver.

Thousands turned out for a glimpse of the eldest brother, with the Netflix show recreating many of the banners bearing slogans such as ‘We love you William’ and ‘I will be your Queen’.

Two signs in The Crown’s recreation refer to ‘Royal Hotness’, which eagle-eyed Royal watchers say was not a known phrase until it was used for Pippa Middleton, a bridesmaid at her sister Kate’s wedding to William in 2011.

The craze went even further when, in 1999, Tatler magazine named 17-year-old William as the hottest date for 2000.

He was top of Tatler’s ‘Little Black Book’s’ list of 200 men and women, with his ‘heartthrob looks and charming manners,’ the Mail reported at the time. 

William’s decision to attend the University of St Andrews, where he met Kate Middleton, significantly boosted applications and interest in the university. 

This Prince William effect resulted in a 44 per cent increase in the university’s applications compared to the previous year.

The increase was particularly noticeable among young women, especially from the US.

Even after losing his famous golden locks William has managed to maintain his sex appeal and has been crowned the world’s sexiest bald man for the second consecutive year.

But according to Quinn when Meghan Markle came onto the scene her hugging and warmth made him uncomfortable – especially as it fuelled flirting allegations.

The royal author wrote: ‘Tensions developed between William and Harry as a result of Meghan’s warm, friendly, hug-everyone approach.

‘It made William uncomfortable because she hugged him virtually every time they bumped into each other; the hugging and cheek kissing fuelled gossip among the staff that Meghan was flirting with William, which she was obviously not, but the tense atmosphere caused by all the touchy-feeliness (and the resultant gossip) deepened the rift between the brothers.’ 

In their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the former Suits actress said she did not know the Royal Family’s ‘formality’ carries through behind closed doors and that she is a ‘hugger’ – which she did not realise was ‘jarring for some Brits’.

She said: ‘Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot.

‘Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger I didn’t realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.’

‘I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward facing way of being and then you close the door and think “OK we can relax now”. But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.’

Harry also recalled the apparently awkward first meeting between his now wife and his brother and sister-in-law in his bombshell memoir Spare.

He claimed William ‘recoiled’ from Meghan’s hug and described the moment he introduced his sibling to his then girlfriend as a ‘classic collision of cultures’.

But unlike many teen idols of his time, William has managed to maintain his popularity with fans flocking to catch a glimpse of the prince at royal events. 

Among his list of A-list friends is modern day teen idol Taylor Swift who he snapped a selfie with ahead of her Wembley Eras Tour concert on his 42nd birthday.

He was spotted wearing a swiftie friendship bracelet and singing along to Shake it Off. 

The multi-Grammy Award winning singer posted a photo with the price, his children and her boyfriend Travis Kelce captioned: ‘Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start.’

William and the American singer-songwriter have known eachother since 2013 when they both took to the stage at a charity event at Kensington Palace to perform Livin’ On A Prayer with Jon Bon Jovi. 

Despite his brother’s efforts to embroil him in scandal, the prince has managed to defy the fate of teen royalty and has maintained his status of being well-liked and relevant in his adult years.

As heir to the throne and living constantly in the spotlight, this is an impressive feat.

While it is unlikely his birthday celebrations will top last year, his army of loyal fans will be keen to see what he is up to.

Our thoughts?

We think it’s time Taylor and William recreated their iconic performance from 12 years ago.