When you’re born a prince of the British Royal Family, it’s par for the course that your life is going to be of interest to a great many people the whole world over.
As such it’s no surprise that cameras have followed the likes of Prince William and Prince Harry at every possible opportunity. Of course, getting a hold of the sort of salacious speculation and shocking images that make bombshell stories for newspapers isn’t always easily done where the senior members of the Royal Family are concerned; not only do they keep themselves behind a stoic and steady facade, but in general information is rarely allowed to leak out from behind their veil of secrecy.
Which is in part why Prince Harry’s decision to commit to a life away from the monarchy was such a big thing. Not only is he more accessible and relatable now, but he’s actually doing is utmost to feed the media things to write about.
This became abundantly clear with the publication of his memoir, Spare, upon the pages of which Harry poured out his heart and soul, not to mention all manner of exciting revelations. Among the most intriguing subjects was that of the Prince’s sex life as a younger man, which he spoke of candidly.
Now, Harry never named the woman who took his virginity, but he did offer enough details regarding his first time to tantalize the general public.
“She liked horses, quite a lot and… treated me not unlike a young stallion,” the 39-year-old wrote in Spare.
“Quick ride, after which she’d smacked my rump and sent me off to graze. Among the many things about it that were wrong: It happened in a grassy field behind a busy pub.”
Needless to say, no sooner had people had a chance to read Spare, than did they begin to speculate as to who this mystery woman might be.
And while unfortunately we can’t reveal her identity (because, well, we don’t know it), we can rule out a particular English actress who was tipped to be the woman in question.
58-year-old Elizabeth Hurley, best known for her work in Austin Powers and Strictly Confidential, found herself the subject of rumors following the release of Spare, but she’s finally broken her silence to set the record straight.
Speaking on an episode of Watch What Happens Live, the actress discussed the theory that she had been Harry’s first lover.
“That was ludicrous!” she told host Andy Cohen. “He said, ‘She was English. She was older than me. It was in Gloucestershire’. And they were like, ‘Ah, it’s Elizabeth.’ It was absurd. It was ridiculous.”
Hurley added that she’d never met Harry, which would obviously make the idea of their entanglement a tad more difficult.
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Sun last year, a British woman named Sasha Walpole claimed she took Harry’s virginity, explaining:
“I am the woman who took Harry’s virginity. It was literally wham-bam between two friends. [It was] passionate and sparky because we shouldn’t have been doing it.
“We went outside, and both climbed a three-bar fence to the field. We were quite drunk at this point. I gave Harry a cigarette. I lit mine and then his. We finished our cigarettes – Marlboro Lights – and it just happened. He started to kiss me.”