So who WAS the older woman Prince Harry ‘mounted in a field’?

A fumble in a field as a teenager is one of the most eyebrow-raising revelations in Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, with the royal going into detail worthy of a Mills & Boon bodice ripper about the encounter. 

In the book released early in Spain yesterday, Prince Harry reveals how he lost his virginity in 2001 aged 17 to an older woman who ‘liked macho horses’ in a ‘field behind a very busy pub’ – believed to have been the Rattlebone Inn in Wiltshire. 

‘I mounted her quickly, after which she spanked my ass and sent me away,’ he said, instantly fuelling fevered speculation as to who the mystery woman could be – with Liz Hurley rushing to furiously deny it was her before the memoir was even published. 

Prince Harry’s penchant for the older woman is well known, and while it’s highly unlikely that any the previous paramours he’s been publicly linked to could possibly be the lady in question, he certainly had a colourful dating history before meeting Meghan. 

Here, Femail reveals the runners and riders who will also be racing to rule themselves out like Liz Hurley. 

Natalie Pinkham (neigh way!)

In 1999, Prince Harry reportedly met sports presenter Natalie Pinkham at the Rugby World Cup in Wales when he was 15 and she was in her early 20s. 

When Harry was 17, the Mail reported that he’d struck up a close friendship with Natalie, then 24, who was a researcher on Ready, Steady, Cook at the time.

Sources said he was infatuated with Miss Pinkham and regularly sent her flirtatious e-mails and text messages.

However, she denied they were more than friends, saying: ‘We are close friends and we’ve known each other for a few years. We speak regularly on the phone, but I really don’t want to say anything else.’ 

In 2006, photos emerged of Prince Harry – who was still dating Chelsy Davy at the time – groping Natalie’s chest at a party, which were then published in The Sun.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday shortly afterwards, Natalie denied that she was romantically involved with the Prince – with a source saying that she considered him to be a ‘normal bloke’.

Prince Harry and Natalie’s relationship didn’t blossom further from there and she went on to marry Endemol executive, Owain Walbyoff, and the pair now have two children. 

Left: Natalie Pinkham, 45, pictured on the red carpet for the London Fashion Awards in 2019. Right: Pictured with husband Owain Walbyoff and their two children

In 2019, it was reported that Prince Harry had ‘ghosted’ Natalie following his marriage to Meghan Markle. 

Speaking to The Sun, a source claimed: ‘She is quite rightfully miffed. She has known Harry for years and was not only his drinking buddy, but his confidante.

‘They were super close but it was purely platonic. When Harry got together with Meghan their relationship rapidly changed — it just went flat and noticeably cooled off.’ 

However they added: ‘Natalie feels Meghan is the sensible soulmate who will tame Harry’s wild side.’ 

Cassie Sumner (a few furlongs too late) 

Cassie Sumner (who enjoyed a romantic tryst with Prince Harry in 2006) pictured on stage at the WAGs Boutique the following year. The glamour model is three years older than the royal

In 2004, glamour model Cassie Sumner – who is three years older than Harry – opened up about her romantic rendezvous with the Prince.

Although she doesn’t quite fit the bill of Harry’s description of an ‘older woman who liked macho horses’.

The model, from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, says Prince Harry ran into her at London’s Chinawhite nightclub in 2004.

According to glamour model Cassie Sumner, a former girlfriend of Russell Brand, Harry cuddled up to her and nuzzled her earlobe ‘which made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck’.

‘I could feel his hands running up and down the inside of my thighs and I gave him a playful slap,’ said Cassie. ‘I began giggling, so he snuggled up close and started whispering in my ear, telling me how sexy I looked and asking repeatedly is there anywhere we could go. I told him not to be silly.’

She saw him kissing Lauren Pope – a glamour model who has since appeared in reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex – before he came over to see her. 

As she revealed in a newspaper interview: ‘He made eye contact as I stood at the bar with friends and invited me to join his private table. It wasn’t long before he began cuddling up to me.

‘He seemed fascinated with my breasts, because he spent more time looking at them than my face. At one point I could feel his hands running up and down my thighs, and I gave him a playful slap. I began giggling so he snuggled up close and starting whispering in my ear, telling me how sexy I looked.

‘He asked repeatedly: “Is there somewhere we can go?” I said “Don’t be silly” – but it only seemed to encourage Harry more.’

Catherine Ommaney (an also ran)

Catherine Ommanney (who is 13 years older than Harry) has spoken openly about their fling

But this wasn’t the last time Prince Harry was involved with an older woman – as reality star Catherine Ommanney has spoken openly about their ‘fling’, despite their 13 year age gap.

Although she’s never revealed the date of their first meeting,  the Real Housewives of DC star claims to have enjoyed a two month romance with the royal in 2006, when she was 34 and he was 21.

Last November, Catherine said in an interview with The Sun that she met with Prince Harry, now 38, in a bar in Chelsea while he was still in a long-term on-off relationship with socialite Chelsy Davy. 

She says that after having a few drinks, the pair then went to Eclipse nightclub in South Kensington together, before heading to one of his friend’s houses.

There, she says, they ‘shared a cigarette on the steps outside and [Harry] really opened-up to [her]’.

Catherine Ommanney (left, in 2010) claims she enjoyed a two-month fling with Prince Harry (right, in 2006) when she was 34 and he was 21 

After going back inside, she claims Harry made them all bacon sandwiches, play-fought with his friends and gave her a kiss before heading home. 

Catherine claims they met a few more times before the romance fizzled out and it wasn’t until 2009, a year after she married her second husband (from whom she is now separated) that the two bumped into each other again at a polo match.

Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored last month, Catherine said ‘doesn’t recognise’ Harry and insisted he would not have been the ‘sort of person’ to make a six-part documentary with Netflix when she knew him.

She said: ‘[Meghan] got a spell over him, and that’s why I don’t recognise him, because he used to be so down-to-earth and normal and there’s so little of him I actually recognise. 

‘He would never in a million years back in those days have been the sort of person to do this show, ever.’

Natalie Imbruglia (not even at the post)

Natalie Imbruglia (pictured last month) – who is 10 years older than Harry – described the royal as ‘sexy and charming’ when he attended her 34th birthday in 2009

During his on-off relationship with Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry was also connected to Natalie Imbruglia – who is 10 years his senior.

But considering how their ‘friendship’ wasn’t reported on until 2009, it’s unlikely she was the one he enjoyed a night of passion with next to the Windsor pub. 

When he was 24, Harry was said to be in frequent text contact with the Australian singer and was the guest of honour at her 34th birthday party at the Kensington Roof Gardens in West London.

The pair were reportedly introduced through Sam Branson, the son of multi-millionaire Sir Richard, who owns the Kensington Roof Gardens, which was one of Prince Harry’s favourite haunts.

Sources close to the Prince say he had been in regular contact with the singer, who in turn described Harry to a friend as ‘sexy and very charming’.

Prince Harry pictured in July 2004 – the year he was reportedly texting Natalie Imbruglia

One guest told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Natalie has met William and Harry before because they have some mutual friends. She invited them to the Roof Gardens for her party and she was delighted when Harry turned up. They had a great catch-up. Natalie thought Harry’s outfit was hilarious and they spent ages giggling together.

 ‘At one point she was in the ladies’ loos with a girlfriend fixing her make-up. She said she thought Harry was sexy and very charming and kept asking her friend if she looked all right and if her bottom looked big, which of course it didn’t. She is stunning.’

Liz Hurley (absolutely not me!)

Liz Hurley has denied the rumour that she took Prince Harry’s virginity in a field outside a pub

She may have been rumoured to have dated Prince Harry in the past – but Liz Hurley has gone out of her way to deny that she is the woman who enjoyed a countryside tryst with the royal. 

In December, the 57-year-old actor was asked about the rumour during an interview with the Saturday Times magazine.

When asked about whether she could be the mysterious older woman who took Harry’s virginity, Liz replied: ‘Not me. Not guilty. Ha!’

Making sure there was no room for confusion, she then added: ‘No. Not me. Absolutely not.’ 

The actress has never been pictured with the royal – with the basis of the rumours being that she owned a home in Gloucestershire (where Prince Harry spent a lot of time) from 2001 to 2022. 

Left: Actress Liz Hurley has denied claims that she is the mysterious ‘beautiful older woman’ to whom Prince Harry reportedly lost his virginity. Right: Prince Harry’s (pictured with wife Meghan Markle in New York this month) autobiography discloses that ‘as a teenager he lost his virginity to a beautiful older woman in the countryside’

In a post on her now-deleted blog The Tig, Meghan Markle confessed that she had had a ‘girl crush’ on the actress since she wore her iconic safety-pin Versace dress in 1994.

Alongside a Q&A interview with Liz, Meghan wrote: ‘I wish I could lie and tell you that my 17-year-old self didn’t try to replicate this look for high school prom, but my, oh my, would the photos prove me wrong. I have always loved everything about Liz Hurley.’

Let’s face it, it’s more likely than not that the mysterious woman Prince Harry spent the night with doesn’t feature on this list at all – and is probably a private citizen who managed to slip under the radar.

READ MORE: 

‘She treated me like a young stallion’: Prince Harry recounts losing his virginity to an older woman in a FIELD behind a pub at the age of 17 in his bombshell biography 

‘William grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog bowl’: Prince Harry claims he was attacked by his brother who called Meghan ‘rude’ and ‘difficult’ in bombshell extract from memoir ‘Spare’ 

‘I wanted closure’: Prince Harry recalls repeatedly driving through the Paris tunnel where Princess Diana died at the exact same speed in explosive biography  

Heir it is! The field ‘where Prince Harry lost his virginity’ 

By Richard Simpson for the Mail Online

This is the unassuming field outside the back of a busy country pub where Prince Harry lost his virginity.

Locals at 16th century Rattlebone pub in Sherston in Wiltshire today confirmed to MailOnline that this is indeed the location of the now famous 2001 tryst between Harry and an unnamed older woman, as revealed in his book Spare.

One said: ‘It was known about back then but no one has talked about it in ages, until today of course. It’s definitely the place. The field is out the back. It was more overgrown then, perhaps giving Harry and his partner a little more privacy. ‘Now the grass is quite well manicured and a few fruit trees have been planted.

‘We were thinking of just coming out and confirming it and reaping all the publicity but the official line from us is that we are not confirming anything.

Sherston locals confirmed to the MailOnline today that this is the field Prince Harry referenced in his new biography Spare, which was published in Spain yesterday

Prince Harry used to frequent the Rattlebone pub in Wiltshire while studying at Eton 

‘We were worried by confirming it, lots of weirdos would start turning up and trying to reenact the act itself which might not be too pleasant for our regulars.’

Earlier today, it emerged that Harry has recounted losing his virginity to an unnamed older woman at the age of 17 in his explosive autobiography.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, explained how his anonymous first lover treated him like a ‘young stallion’ and detailed how the steamy exchange took place in a field behind a ‘very busy pub’.

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’.

The father-of-two 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.

‘I mounted her quickly, after which she spanked 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 Marko had been sent to check up on Harry was because King Charles’ press office had been informed a newspaper had evidence of him taking drugs -which Harry said was ‘all lies’.

Harry was a regular at the Rattlebone at the time – it being so close to his father King Charles’ Highgrove estate in Tetbury.