Liz Hurley has hit back at speculation that she took Prince Harry’s virginity, which arose after the publication of his memoir, Spare, last year, describing the rumor as “ridiculous.”
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Wednesday, the 58-year old actress and model was asked about Harry and the rumor.
In his recordbreaking memoir, the prince said that he had his first sexual encounter with an older woman in a field behind a pub near King Charles III’s country home when he was a teenager. Soon afterwards, speculation as to who the woman could be spread online, with several social-media users questioning whether it was Hurley.
“What did you make of the speculation following the publication of Prince Harry’s book Spare that you were the beautiful older woman he lost his virginity to in the countryside?” Cohen asked.
“That was ludicrous,” she responded. “He said: ‘She was English, she was older than me, it was in Gloucestershire.’ They were like: ‘Oh, it’s Elizabeth!’ It was absurd.”
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust/Samir Hussein/WireImage
“It was ridiculous,” Hurley added. “It’s like saying to you: ‘He’s great-looking, he’s American.’ And they say: ‘Oh, that’s Andy Cohen.'”
Furthermore, she said: “I’ve never met him in my life. In my life.”
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry via email for comment.
In his book, Harry recounted his loss of virginity as an “inglorious episode” in his young adulthood, with the semi-graphic account forming the basis of late-night jokes and online mockery after Spare‘s publication.
“Inglorious episode, with an older woman,” Harry wrote. “She liked horses, quite a lot, and treated me not unlike a young stallion. 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.”
In the aftermath of Spare‘s publication in January 2023, a former member of King Charles’ staff on the Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, England, said in a U.K. newspaper interview that she was the woman referred to in Harry’s story.
Sasha Walpole told The Sun: “I am the woman who took Harry’s virginity. It was literally wham-bam between two friends. The sex was passionate and sparky because we shouldn’t have been doing it. One thing just quickly led to another.”
The appearance on Watch What Happens Live is not the first time that Hurley has denied the rumor she was in fact the woman linked to Harry.
In an interview with The Times of London in December 2022, Hurley was asked about it in relation to the prince’s then-upcoming memoir. “Not me. Not guilty. Ha!” she said.
The actress has been linked to Harry in another way in recent months. Both are named as co-claimants, along with several other high-profile public figures, in an unlawful-information-gathering lawsuit filed against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publishers of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday in Britain. The publisher has denied the allegations.
In 2023, a judge ruled that the group could proceed to trial with their cases.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.