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Amid Prince Harry’s personal revelations in his explosive memoir, one particularly startling confession has sent the rumor mill racing.
The Duke of Sussex has had tongues running with his detailed account of how he lost his virginity to a horse-loving older woman in a field at the age of 17.
In his book Spare, Harry reveals that he ‘mounted’ his lover behind a busy pub, believed to be the Rattlebone Inn in Wiltshire, in what he describes as a ‘humiliating’ encounter.
With the prince going into intimate detail worthy of a passage from a Jilly Cooper novel, he described how his anonymous partner had treated him like a “young stud” and “whipped” him.
Suzannah Harvey, pictured here with Prince Harry at the Beaufort Christmas Ball when she was 17, has previously admitted to kissing the royals.
Mrs Harvey, pictured, is now the CEO of Cotswold Airport. She refused to discuss Harry’s new memories or the claims in the book when approached by Mail.
Her startling tale has fueled feverish speculation about who the mystery woman might be. After rumors had swirled for some time, actress Liz Hurley ruled herself out before the book appeared on Spanish bookstore shelves this week.
Harry’s penchant for older women is well known, as the young prince was previously linked to a number of women who were several years his senior.
One woman he was linked to at the time was former model Suzannah Harvey, who was 23 years old and was described as a keen horsewoman.
Harry is said to have flirted with Miss Harvey, now the CEO of Cotswold Airport, at the Beaufort Hunt Christmas Ball which was held in a marquee in the grounds of Badminton House in Gloucestershire.
She told the Mail at the time that the then-teenager, who was still a student at Eton, had showered her with praise before leading her outside and across a muddy field.
“I couldn’t believe it when he headed straight for me,” he said at the time.
The two enjoyed several intimate dances before sitting down together to drink champagne when Harry suggested they “get some air.” She said that he “handled her like a grown man.”
“It was really nice, but while we were kissing I started to worry that his bodyguards were looking for him.” I didn’t want to get him in trouble,” said Miss Harvey.
He’s a wild child and William couldn’t stop him. Outside he treated me like a grown man.
“He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me towards him. It felt as if his hands were encircling my entire waist.
Ms Harvey, pictured here in 2002, said in an interview that year that Harry had treated her “like a grown man” when he kissed her.
Harry, pictured here walking his dog in California earlier this week, claims in his new book that he lost his virginity to a horse-loving older woman in a field behind a pub.
The incident mentioned in Harry’s book could have occurred at the Rattlebone Inn, near King Charles’s home in Highgrove.
‘The kiss was full of passion. Her mouth was numb and she couldn’t move it,” she said in a 2002 interview.
She said the confident teen said he “loved her sexy body” and wrapped his arms around her to warm her in the cold night.
“As he started to get more passionate, I started to worry. He was touching my butt and my back was in the direction we had come from, so a guest could have seen us.
“I tried to keep my hands to myself, but I was tempted to let go,” she admitted.
“It was so hot that steam was rising from us into the frigid air. He definitely had experience handling a woman.
Miss Harvey said that she had told Harry that she was six years older than him, but that didn’t seem to bother him.
He added that he had tried to take her behind a minibus, but was worried that he would ruin her £1,500 ball gown.
When they returned to the marquee, her dress was muddy from walking in a field and they continued to dance before going their separate ways.
Now a successful 44-year-old businesswoman and mother of two, who is engaged to be married, Miss Harvey said last night that Prince Harry’s memoir was not something she wanted to discuss.
She refused to speak to a reporter who called her Cotswold home yesterday, adding that she was out but her boyfriend, who she said was “in the SAS”, was there.
Moments later, a man came up the driveway of the stone four-bedroom property and said: “Please leave now before I call the police.”
Prince Harry has been linked to other older women over the years, including the late Caroline Flack, who was six years his senior, and presenter Natalie Pinkham, who was seven years his senior.
He was also said to have pursued interior designer Catherine Ommanney, 13 years his senior, when she was 21 in 2006.
Like Miss Hurley, others may come out to distance themselves from the embarrassing encounter chronicled in Harry’s book.
The actress was quick to quash the rumors in an interview with The Times, saying: ‘Not me. Not guilty. I do not. Absolutely not.’
In a translation of the Spanish edition of the book, Harry revealed how he lost his virginity while talking about how a royal attendant had visited him to discuss a possible scandal.
He wrote: “I suspected he was referring to my recent loss of virginity, a humiliating episode with an older woman who liked male horses and treated me like a young stallion.
I quickly mounted her, after which she slapped my ass and sent me away. One of my many mistakes was letting it happen in a field, just behind a very busy pub. No doubt someone had seen us.
However, the real reason the deputy had been sent to see Harry was because his father’s office had been informed that a newspaper had evidence that he was taking drugs, which Harry said were “lies”. .