'What was the motive'? Prince Harry says rumors of James Hewitt being his dad was plan to 'oust' him from royal family
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Prince Harry made a shocking claim during his ongoing phone hacking trial against Mirror Group newspapers at the High Court in London on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The Duke of Sussex dreaded that he would be “ousted” from the royal family due to the furphies that James Hewitt, a former cavalry officer in the British Army and ex-lover of Princess Diana, was his biological father.
The 38-year-old also argued he was portrayed as the “playboy prince” during his younger years. As he continued to give evidence, he also admitted that he struggled at school, was afraid he would be kicked out of Eton, and believed that his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy was “doomed”.
James Hewitt met Princess Diana after Prince Harry's birth
Harry also detailed how he had not realized Hewitt only came across his mother, who died at the young age of 36 due to a car crash in 1997 in Paris, until after he was born. “At the time, I wasn’t actually aware that my mother hadn’t met Major Hewitt until after I was born. This timeline is something I only learnt of in around 2014," the Duke said.
Harry also added that the rumors of Major Hewitt being his real father instead of King Charles were “very damaging” and “very real” to him. "At the time, when I was 18 years old and had lost my mother just six years earlier, stories such as this felt very damaging and very real to me. 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 I might be ousted from the Royal Family?"
Prince Harry became first royal to be questioned in a UK courtroom in 130 years
Harry has claimed that phone hacking was done at the time to find out how he celebrated his 18th birthday and also admitted calling his mother's former butler Paul Burrell, 65, a “two faced s***” in 2003. In his court statement, he noted that he was portrayed as “either the ‘playboy prince’, the ‘failure’, the ‘drop out’ or, in my case, the ‘thicko’, the ‘cheat’, the ‘underage drinker’, ‘irresponsible drug taker’”.
The prince also lashed out at the present UK government, claiming that the Conservative Party has reached "rock bottom". “Our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government – both of which I believe are at rock bottom", the prince explained. “Democracy fails when your press fails to scrutinize and hold the government accountable, and instead choose to get into bed with them so they can ensure the status quo,” he added. Harry's case is due to last six to seven weeks.
