Elizabeth Hurley has laughed off speculation that she is the older woman responsible for claiming Prince Harry’s virginity after he documented his first sexual encounter in his bestselling memoir.
Sasha Walpole, a 40-year old mother-of-two who is only two years Harry’s senior, has since said she was his unnamed partner after meeting the young prince while working as a groom for King Charles, then the Prince Of Wales, at his Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove.
But the admission hasn’t stopped furious speculation regarding the sexual encounter and the potential identity of his first lover, with some pointing the finger at 58-year old Hurley.
Addressing the rumours on Wednesday evening during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the actress flatly denied having any association with the Royal.
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.’
She added: ‘It was like saying, “He’s great-looking. He’s American.” Oh, it’s Andy Cohen. I’ve never met him in my life!’
The actress was previously asked about the rumour during an interview with the Saturday Times magazine.
When asked about whether the rumour that it was her is true, she replied: ‘Not me. Not guilty. Ha!’ before going on to add ‘No. Not me. Absolutely not’.
In 2001, the royal was still a student at Eton College in Windsor when one of the Royal Family’s bodyguards Marko paid him a visit.
At the beginning of the meeting, Prince Harry says he suspected Marko had heard about the one-night stand – which he described as a ‘humiliating’ experience.
Over lunch in a cafeteria in the city centre, the bodyguard – who had a ‘sombre look’ on his face – told the Prince that he had been sent to ‘find out the truth’.
Harry, now a parent-of-two with wife Meghan Markle, wrote: ‘I suspected he was referring to my recent loss of virginity, a humiliating episode with an older woman who liked macho horses and who treated me like a young stallion.
