The actress was forced to deny speculation that she was the mystery older woman in the Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare. Now, years later, the pair have found themselves making headlines for very different reasons
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When Prince Harry published his memoir Spare in January 2023, one of the most talked-about revelations was his account of losing his virginity to an older woman.
The Duke of Sussex, then 17, described an encounter with an unnamed woman in a field behind a busy pub in Gloucestershire.
Describing the incident as a ‘humiliating episode’, he wrote: ‘She liked horses, quite a lot, and treated me not unlike a young stallion. 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.’
Harry’s account in Spare quickly sparked speculation about the woman’s identity, with actress Elizabeth Hurley among the names linked to the story.
The rumours were fuelled by the fact that Hurley was British, 19 years older than Harry and known for her love of horses. She also had connections to the Royal Family, having previously sold a horse to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
However, The Royals actress was quick to dismiss the speculation
Hurley described the suggestion that she was Harry’s mystery woman as ‘ludicrous’.
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in April 2024, Hurley was asked directly whether she was the woman mentioned in the memoir.
‘That was ludicrous!’ she replied, explaining that people had jumped to conclusions based on the limited details Harry had shared.
‘He said, “She was English. She was older than me. It was in Gloucestershire.” And they were like, “Ah, it’s Elizabeth.”’
When Cohen pushed her further, asking whether Harry had been a good lover, Hurley laughed and insisted: ‘I’ve never met him.’
Although the pair have never met, they have crossed paths in royal circles. Hurley attended high-profile events with King Charles and worked alongside Prince William in 2016 at a fundraising event for Centrepoint, the homelessness charity.
They found themselves in court together
In January 2026, both appeared at the High Court in London as claimants in a major legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.
They joined Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and former MP Sir Simon Hughes in alleging that the publisher had used unlawful methods to obtain private information about them.
Hurley gave evidence about her experiences, alleging that private investigators working for the newspaper had bugged her landline and placed listening devices outside her home.
In her witness statement, she said: ‘The Mail’s unlawful acts against me involve landline tapping my phones and recording my live telephone conversations, placing surreptitious mics on my home windows, stealing my medical information when I was pregnant with Damian and other monstrous, staggering things.’
She added: ‘Above all, it was the discovery that The Mail had tapped the landlines of my home phones and tape recorded my live telephone conversations that devastated me.’
You can read more about Hurley’s evidence against the Daily Mail publisher at the High Court.
However, in July 2026, a High Court judge dismissed all seven claimants’ cases, ruling that they had failed to prove their allegations of unlawful information gathering. The following month, the group were ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54 million towards the publisher’s legal costs.
Both Hurley and Harry have therefore found themselves back in the headlines, albeit for reasons very different from the speculation surrounding Spare.
Elizabeth Hurley is taking her relationship with Billy Ray Cyrus to the next level
As for their respective love lives, both have moved on considerably since the events that sparked the original rumours.
Hurley is now in a relationship with American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, with the unlikely pairing first going public on Instagram over Easter weekend in April 2025.
The couple have since shared glimpses of their relationship, splitting their time between Cyrus’s farm in Tennessee and Hurley’s country home in Herefordshire.
Despite their seemingly different backgrounds – a British actress and model and an American country music star – Hurley has insisted they have plenty in common.
Speaking on the SheerLuxe podcast in October 2026, she joked that they were ‘actually like twins’.
‘We have the same hair. Identical hair. Apart from his beard, we’re actually like twins,’ she said.
She went on to explain that they had both spent much of their working lives travelling and had eventually moved away from city life.
‘We’ve both lived out of suitcases our entire life. And we both also a long time ago moved out of the cities. He’s got a farm in Tennessee, I’ve got one here in Herefordshire, and neither of us really go out much unless we have to ’cause it’s work. So there are a lot more similarities than you’d think.’
And their relationship appears to be going from strength to strength. During an appearance on Off Air with Jane and Fi in October, Hurley revealed that the pair were planning to live together in Los Angeles while she films the second series of The ‘Burbs.
‘Yeah, we’re going to live together out there,’ she confirmed.
She also reflected on how being empty nesters has made their relationship easier, with both of their children now independent.
Prince Harry and Meghan have a new chapter ahead
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has been married to Meghan Markle since May 2018, with the couple sharing two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
After stepping back from their senior royal roles in 2020, the family settled in Montecito, California. However, 2026 has brought a significant change, with Harry and Meghan returning to the UK for an extended stay.
Their children have started at British schools, and the family are understood to be living at a private residence outside London, while retaining their home in California.
Harry has also continued his work with charitable organisations, although there are no plans for the couple to resume their former roles as working members of the Royal Family.
So, while Hurley may never have been the mystery woman from Harry’s memoir, the pair have since shared a rather unexpected chapter in the headlines – from royal speculation to a high-profile legal battle, and now very different new beginnings.
