“Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father?”

Prince Harry has lifted the lid on rumours that Major James Hewitt is his real dad claiming that King Charles joked with him that it could be the case. In the latest in a string of leaks from Harry’s upcoming new book Spare, the Prince writes that the now King would joke “who knows if I’m even your real father?”

Princess Diana had confirmed a five-year affair with Major Hewitt during the 1980s. In 2021, Hewitt was said to be undertaking a new job in Devon as a gardener, tending to the grounds of the flat where his mother lives in Farringdon, near Exeter.

In one extract, seen by Page Six, Harry says: “Pa [King Charles] liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire. He’d always end with a burst of philosophising… Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father?

“He’d laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumour circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy’s former lovers: Major James Hewitt. One cause of this rumour was Major Hewitt’s flaming ginger hair, but another cause was sadism.”

Birmingham Live reports that he adds: “Never mind that my mother didn’t meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born.” Harry also writes in his memoir that he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.

In Spare, he writes: “Most soldiers don’t know exactly how many kills they have to their credit. Under battle conditions, you often fire indiscriminately. However, in the age of Apaches and laptops, everything I did in the course of two tours of duty was recorded and time-stamped.

James Hewitt

“I could always tell exactly how many enemy combatants I had killed. And it seemed essential for me not to be afraid of that figure. Among the many things I learned in the Armed Forces, one of the most important was to be accountable for my own actions.” He continued: “So my number: twenty-five. It was not something that filled me with satisfaction, but I was not ashamed either.

“Naturally, I would have preferred not to have that figure on my military resume, or in my head, but I would also have preferred to live in a world without the Taliban, a world without war.

“However, even for a casual practitioner of wishful thinking like myself, there are realities that cannot be changed.”

In one extract, seen by Page Six, Harry says: “Pa [King Charles] liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire. He’d always end with a burst of philosophising… Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father?

Read next: James Hewitt reported to be working as gardener in Devon

“He’d laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumour circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy’s former lovers: Major James Hewitt. One cause of this rumour was Major Hewitt’s flaming ginger hair, but another cause was sadism.”

Birmingham Live reports that he adds: “Never mind that my mother didn’t meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born.” Harry also writes in his memoir that he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.