In the ongoing privacy case against Mirror Group Newspaper (MGN), Prince Harry dismissed the longstanding rumor suggesting that James Hewitt is his biological father. The Duke of Sussex made these comments during his court appearance in London's High Court on Tuesday.
The royal's legal battle against the publishing company stems from allegations of phone hacking, wherein he presented several articles he believes were based on illicitly obtained information. Notably, one article brought into focus the recurring rumor questioning his paternity.
Prince Harry referred to a 2002 story from The People titled "Plot to rob the DNA of Harry." At the age of 18, he lost his mother, Princess Diana, in a tragic car accident six years prior and was deeply affected by the circulation of rumors asserting Hewitt as his real father.
According to Page Six, Prince Harry recounted the impact of these speculations, stating they were "hurtful, mean, and cruel," and left him pondering the motives behind the stories. He questioned whether the newspapers aimed to "instill doubt in the minds of the public so that I might be excluded from the Royal Family."
The Duke further singled out the article's author, Dean Rousewell, accusing him of a consistent history of using "illicit information-gathering techniques." For the said story, Rousewell allegedly detailed a scheme to swipe Harry's hair to verify his "parentage."
Prince Harry maintained that Rousewell was aware that Hewitt couldn't be his father, given the timeline of Hewitt's involvement with Princess Diana. Harry noted that he wasn't aware of this timeline until around 2014, but understood that it was common knowledge amongst the defendants' journalists.
The Duke also expressed concern about Rousewell's claim of a "high-ranking royal source" providing information about the alleged paternity test. He dismissed the possibility of such an insider, given the stringent security measures in place to safeguard the royal family.
Harry previously addressed the Hewitt rumor in his memoir, "Spare," recalling a distasteful joke by King Charles III related to the conjecture. He recollected his father's words, "Who knows if I'm really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I'm even your real father?" He described the joke as "sadistic," given the circulating rumor connecting him to Major James Hewitt, a former lover of his mother.
In 2017, Hewitt himself dispelled the rumor on an Australian TV show, responding with a straightforward "No, I'm not" when queried about being Prince Harry's biological father.
In the privacy suit, Prince Harry alleges that new voicemails from his phone "would disappear" before he had the opportunity to listen to them. The trial, which started in May, also includes three other representative claims and is expected to last six to seven weeks.
