Prince Harry’s book Spare became an instant success when it dropped on January 10. About a month has now passed since its release, the dust settled. Of course, if anyone thought it was going to mark a peace offering to his family members, they were sorely mistaken.
The rift between Harry and the British Royal Family seems to be even worse than before Spare hit the shelves. Even so, one thing that fans of Harry’s are happy about is the sheer number of stories about his private life – including how he lost his virginity – that he penned in memoir.
Harry wrote in detail about how he lost his virginity in a field behind a pub at age 17 with an “older woman.” He never specifically disclosed her identity, and as such, rumors have been abound.
Then, just days ago, a lady finally stepped forward. Her name is Sasha Walpole – and now she’s chosen to share more intimate details about what happened on Harry’s big night.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been in the spotlight for years. When they left the Royal Family, fans of the monarchy were divided into two. Some believed the couple should be able to do exactly how they liked and not be “forced” to stay within the royal sphere against their will. Others argued that Harry should have devoted his life to serving the crown.
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s rift with the royals
As Harry and Meghan settled into their new life in the US, certain Royal Family were of the belief that Harry had made a mistake. That reportedly includes Prince William, whose own misgivings towards his brother go back further than Harry’s move across the Atlantic.
In the 2019 documentary Kate v. Meghan: Princesses at War?, royal expert Katie Nicholl claimed that William was not overly happy about Harry and Meghan’s relationship prior to their wedding in 2018. For Harry’s part, it was said that he thought his elder brother wasn’t doing enough to include Meghan in the Royal Family.
“William was quite concerned that the relationship had moved so quickly. And being close to Harry, probably the only person close enough to say to Harry, ‘This seems to be moving quickly, are you sure?’” Nicholl said.
She continued: “I think what was meant as well-intended brotherly advice just riled Harry. Harry is hugely protective of Meghan. He saw that as criticism. He interpreted that as his brother not really being behind this marriage, this union, and I don’t think things have been quite right ever since.”
Of course, things didn’t improve when Harry & Meghan appeared in the now-infamous Oprah Winfrey interview. The couple accused an unnamed royal of questioning their son Archie’s potential skin color. In addition, Meghan claimed she didn’t get help from the royals regarding her declining mental health.
Harry and Meghan Markle have been very outspoken about what they think of the Royal Familu since the Oprah interview in 2020.
Harry’s revelations in ‘Spare’ book
In December, with the release of their new Netflix documentary series, they continued to express disappointment over their royal life.
One ongoing theme is that Harry felt no one welcomed Meghan into the Royal Family. Indeed, the Duchess has admitted to feeling somewhat frozen out.
Earlier this year when Harry released his memoir, Spare, things took an even more dramatic turn. Within the book’s pages, the prince offered his entire life story from growing up as a royal, including details of what happened after Princess Diana’s death, his experiences after joining the army, and the feud with his brother, William.
Moreover, he also criticized several Royal Family members, including Kate Middleton and his stepmother, Camilla, as well as William and Kate, for being more open towards him visiting them as George was young.
Many have found Harry’s book interesting, as some of the revelations show a whole different side to the Prince than fans have been used to.
On the other hand, the fact that he wrote about Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and how he feared that they might end up “just like him”, has upset more than just a few people, including one royal expert.
Royal author Ingrid Seward openly warned him against further discussing William and Kate’s children’s future.
“Harry should lay off Prince William’s children. In fact, he should lay off everybody and button it now,” she said. “It is a very dangerous road to go down, to start talking about other people’s children.”
She added: “And what he says Prince William said to him is absolutely right – they are William’s responsibility and not his, so he should keep out of it.”
“It is none of Harry’s business. But Harry has become dangerous to his family, and to himself, because he can lob in his little asides whenever he wants.”
Harry’s relationships & girlfriends over the years
Even though Harry’s book included some serious and sometimes tragic chapters of his life, he also took the time to write about lighter themes, including his former romances and girlfriends.
Harry even detailed how he lost his virginity to an “older woman,” whose identity has now reportedly been revealed.
Between 2004 and 2010, Harry was involved in one of his longest relationships when the Prince and Chelsy Davy formed a couple.
The two were said to have met when Harry was on his gap year in Cape Town, but in Spare, he revealed that they had met earlier and merely reconnected while visiting Africa in 2004.
Harry discussed their relationship, which he argued had two different sides; one from when they spent time together in Africa and one in the UK.
In 2010, the couple broke up, and Harry said the reason was a lack of privacy. Moreover, he felt Davy had to change to fit into royal life.
“The whole world isn’t made to put up with constant scrutiny, and I don’t know if Chels could bear it, and I couldn’t ask her to,” Harry wrote in Spare, claiming that the paparazzi had even placed a tracking device on her car.
“I understood she put her freedom first”
As a result, Chelsy Davy felt she wanted “freedom first” rather than the very public life the future would hold with Harry.
“Chels insisted that she was not sure if she was prepared for all of that. A whole life with someone on your heels? What could I say to her? I would miss her very much, but I understood she put her freedom first. If I had the choice, I’d want to live like that as well.”
Throughout his life, Harry has seen what the British paparazzi can do to women entering the royal sphere. Princess Diana was one example, Kate Middleton another, and of course, then came his wife, Meghan Markle. The press dug deep into each person’s private life, trying to find the “good stuff” – often terrible things that readers would flock to read.
The women Harry dated after Chelsy Davy had the same feelings towards the press, and was of the opinion that a life with that kind of coverage was just too much.
A year after his breakup with Davy, Harry began dating Florence Brudenell-Bruce. However, it wasn’t until he released Spare that Harry confirmed his relationship with “Flea.”.
They spent an “idyllic” few weeks together before the press started printing stories about the two. In the end, Harry revealed that Florence’s mother told her daughter to end the relationship.
Harry’s last girlfriend before meeting Meghan Markle
“It was Flea’s mother who told her to end things, who warned her that the press would destroy her life. ‘They’ll hound you to the gates of Hell’, her mother said. ‘Yeah’, I told the friend. ‘Mums do know best,’” Harry wrote.
Before Harry met Meghan Markle and settled down, he also dated Cressida Bonas. Unfortunately, the couple’s love story didn’t last, but ultimately, Harry and Cressida’s relationship came to be significant on a different level.
At the time, Harry had just started his career in the military. Naturally, he didn’t get to spend as much quality time with his then-girlfriend as he wanted, and she, at the same time, was working hard to become an actress.
Their relationship lasted for two years before the press found out about it.
In Spare, Harry revealed that Cressida was the first person he could cry in front of when speaking about his mother’s passing. He felt “indebted” to her.
“Wiping my eyes, I thanked her,” Harry stated. “She was the first person to help me across that barrier, to help me unleash the tears. It was cathartic, it accelerated our bond, and added an element rare in past relationships: immense gratitude. I was indebted to Cress.”
Harry and Cressida remained great friends. And when the Prince and Meghan Markle tied the knot in 2018, she attended the wedding.
Harry reveals how he lost his virginity in ‘Spare’
Over the years, Harry was linked with several other women. But in the end, it was Suits actress Meghan Markle who stole his heart.
The revelations about his previous romances interested the readers of his book. But it was another, more intimate section, that’s now getting all the attention.
Harry revealed and gave details of when and how he lost his virginity in his book – and now the woman he was with has given her side of the story.
The experience, at age 17, was quite something, with the Prince detailing how he lost his virginity in a field behind a pub – with an older, horse-loving woman.
“A humiliating episode with an older woman who liked macho horses and who treated me like a young stallion,” Harry wrote about the experience, which occurred when he was a student at Eton in 2001.
“Quick ride, after which she’d smacked my rump and sent me off to graze. Among the many things about it that were wrong: It happened in a grassy field behind a busy pub. Obviously, someone had seen us.”
Of course, everyone wanted to know who the mystery woman was, and the British papers wasted no time before they started digging. One woman who was asked was former model and passionate horsewoman, Suzannah Harvey. But in an interview with the Times, she denied it was her.
“Not me. Not guilty. Ha!” Harvey said.
Sasha Walpole steps forward as the “older woman”
Initially, the identity of the woman Harry had first been with wasn’t disclosed. Then, days ago, Sasha Walpole decided to step forward.
As soon as the tell-all book – with Harry’s bombshell revelation about losing his virginity – was released, Sasha felt she had to tell her father that she was the one.
In an interview with The Sun, Walpole revealed that she had previously only told her mother about her intimate time with Harry. The pub behind which Harry said he lost his virginity was the Vine Tree Inn in Wiltshire.
“I am the woman who took Harry’s virginity. It was literally wham-bam between two friends. [It was] passionate and sparky because we shouldn’t have been doing it,” Walpole said.
She added: “We went outside, and both climbed a three-bar fence to the field. We were quite drunk at this point. I gave Harry a cigarette. I lit mine and then his. We finished our cigarettes – Marlboro Lights – and it just happened. He started to kiss me.”
Sasha added that neither of them said a word while it happened.
“It was exciting that it was happening. It was exciting that it was happening like the way it was. We were away for 15 minutes, but the [intercourse lasted] about five minutes,” she explained, saying that they had to go in separate directions back to the pub.
“My friends saw me and started laughing”
However, looking back, she realized it was “probably more obvious.”
“I went back over the fence through the garden. A lot of people were outside, as it was kicking-out time by the time we’d finished. My friends saw me and started laughing. I didn’t have my belt and it’s obvious when you come back a bit dishevelled from a field.”
She added: “We had been gone about 15 minutes, and it was long enough for the security to start worrying where he was.”
Sasha is only a couple of years older than Harry. She had worked at the stable at then-Prince Charles’ residence, Highgrove Gouse, and admitted that she and Harry were “mates.” At the time, Harry and Sasha had reportedly known each other for about two years.
Earlier during the night, the two had been drinking tequila and sambuca while celebrating Sasha’s birthday. After that, they never spoke again.
“Harry and I never texted or rang each other after that. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t embarrassed,” Sasha said.
“Was I disappointed he didn’t ring? No. It was circumstances, we weren’t going out, we didn’t need to ring each other.”
Sasha Walpole says it’s “awkward” reading what Harry wrote
Not long after The Sun broke the story, Sasha spoke to the Daily Mail and questioned the Prince’s choice to write about his first time. She said she didn’t mind that he wrote about the event, but said it wasn’t as glorious as he had pictured it.
“I don’t understand why he went into such detail. He could have said that he lost his virginity and left it at that,” Walpole said.
“He has done this to my privacy because I was going to keep my head down and not talk about it. If it wasn’t in the book, none of this would be happening.”
She further told The Sun: “It is awkward because of what Harry has written about me slapping his bum, really cringey. It flared up because of the way Harry has written it. That is why I am in this situation.”
Sasha also mentioned that she’s had great support from her parents since unveiling her name.
“Harry has put it out there,” she said. “My parents’ concern is for my safety. They just want me to be OK.”
