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A woman who claims to be the man to whom the Duke of Sussex lost her virginity has spoken of her surprise that she included the details in her book.
In his controversial memoir Spare, Harry described how he had sex with an older woman in a field behind a busy pub.
Sasha Walpole, who was interviewed by the Mail on Sunday, said she was that woman and is now telling the story in her own words.
I’m surprised Harry put it in his book. It was a long time ago, we were teenagers
Sasha Walpole
The 40-year-old said she was only going public, having kept it a secret for two decades, because Harry wrote about the episode.
In a video interview he said: “I kept it a secret for 21 years. I would never have said anything if he hadn’t put it in his book.”
He added: “I’m here to tell my story in my words. I am the woman Prince Harry wrote in his book that he lost his virginity to.
Describing Harry as a “good friend” and “smiling” at the time, she said they shared an interest in horses and his first job as a groom was at Highgrove.
Mrs Walpole, now an excavator driver, said many people in her circle of friends at the time were aware of what had happened.
She said: “I’m surprised Harry put it in his book. It was a long time ago, we were teenagers. It doesn’t seem like a really big deal to me because I’ve obviously known for so long.
“Then no one would be surprised back then that it was me and Harry. A lot of people knew about it.”
He added: “Since then our lives have gone in different directions. If I see him on the street (sic) I’d like to think we could go for a drink. We were really good friends then and I wish him well.”
In the book, Harry describes losing his virginity as a “disgraceful episode”.
He described how a royal bodyguard, Marco, visited him in late 2001 when he was still a 16- or 17-year-old student at Eton College in Windsor and told the prince he had been sent to “find out” the truth.
Harry wrote: “I suspected he was referring to my recent loss of virginity. Disgraceful episode with an older woman. He liked horses, quite a lot, and not like a young horse racing with me.
“A quick ride, then he hit me in the ribs and sent me to graze.
“Among many things about it was wrong: it happened on a grassy field behind a busy pub. Obviously, someone saw us.”
The book reveals that the bodyguard was actually checking on the Prince because the press office of his father, the then Prince of Wales, had been informed that there was evidence of his drug use in a newspaper, which Harry described as “all lies”.
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