In a written statement as part of his testimony in an ongoing phone hacking case, Prince Harry addressed the “cruel” rumors surrounding his paternity that were perpetuated by Mirror Group Newspapers Limited, whom Harry is currently suing for allegedly using unethical methods like phone hacking to obtain information about him since he was young.
Harry’s statement, which was obtained by the New York Times on Tuesday, accuses the newspaper group of being “keen to put doubt into the minds of the public so that I might be ousted from the Royal Family.” His mother Diana, the late Princess of Wales, had an affair with Major James Hewitt in the late 1980s when he was asked to give her riding lessons. Due to Hewitt’s perceived resemblance to the younger prince, many have speculated over the years that Harry might indeed be a result of that union, instead of Diana’s marriage to now-King Charles.
Who Is James Hewitt, Princess Diana's Former Lover?
Princess Diana's former paramour came to prominence around the time of the affair, after news leaked to British newspapers including the Daily Mail. Hewitt then participated in a book about Diana's romances called Princess in Love, which was published in 1994. In the book he alleged his affair with the Princess stretched from 1986 to 1991, and Diana confirmed the affair in her bombshell 1995 interview with Panorama.
Hewitt, who had the same red hair as Prince Harry in his youth, has long been suspected of being Harry's "real" father, considering the resemblance. However, Hewitt—and those who knew Diana best—have been adamant that there was simply no way for him to have fathered Harry. "There really is no possibility whatsoever that I am Harry's father. I can absolutely assure you that I am not," he told the Sunday Mirror in 2002, adding that Harry was "already walking" by the time his relationship with Diana began.
Notably, all sources generally agree that the affair between Diana and Hewitt began in 1986, two years after Harry was born in September of 1984. Diana's former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, wrote in his memoir that "Diana did not meet James until the summer of 1986, and the red hair, gossips so love to cite as proof is, of course, a Spencer trait." Indeed, Diana's brother Charles Spencer also sports ginger locks, and also bears a great resemblance to his nephew.
Prince Harry Calls Newspaper Group 'Hurtful, Mean, And Cruel'
Despite the timing simply not working out for the parentage conspiracy theory to hold any water, it hasn't stopped the media from reporting on it—and hurting those affected by the accusations.
In his statement, the Duke of Sussex wrote, "At the time, when I was 18 years old and had lost my mother [Princess Diana] just six years earlier, stories such as this felt very damaging and very real to me," Harry said in a reference to an article in The People called, "Plot to rob the DNA of Harry" from 2002. The prince added, "They were hurtful, mean and cruel. I was always left questioning the motives behind the stories. Were the newspapers keen to put doubt into the minds of the public so that I might be ousted from the Royal Family?"
Harry also shared that "At the time of this article and others similar to it, I wasn’t actually aware that my mother hadn’t met Major Hewitt until after I was born," meaning the rumors were all the more damaging to a young Harry. In his memoir, Spare, the Prince said that father Charles sometimes made "sadistic jokes" about this particular bit of gossip: "Pa liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire. He’d always end with a burst of philosophizing…'Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father?'"
Twitter Comments: 'Striking Similarities'; 'Lies'
Many on Twitter were divided as the decades-old affair trended on the site following Harry's statement being made public:
It’s still unsettled. Only DNA will settle it, but the similarities between Harry and James Hewitt are too striking to dismiss. pic.twitter.com/YDBKHS8JNa
— GeorgeWarrick (@GeorgeWarwick12) June 7, 2023
What lies you spin. PH admitted his mother did not meet James Hewitt until 2 years after he was born! https://t.co/pU41qU2HRe
— EllieMcCauleyCummins (@ElliemccauleyMc) June 6, 2023
Except James Hewitt wasn't Diana's riding instructor until 1986 - which is widely known. Harry was born on September 15, 1984. And - Harry is a dead ringer for his paternal grandfather, Prince Phillip at the same age. Nice try, but no cigar, wanker. pic.twitter.com/RW5QwRvs0d
— KatieAnnieOakly; also on Post, Spoutible, Mastodon (@KatieAnnieOakly) June 7, 2023
Harry's trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers Limited is currently still ongoing, with the Prince's 55-page testimonial statement being entered into the court just this week.
