The day Charles told Harry that Hewitt was not his father: It was
the hardest conversation of his life... but the Prince had to end the
cruel gossip

• Harry endured endless gossip about his physical similarity to James Hewitt
• As a soldier, Hewitt was one of young Harry's mentors
  
• He was furious to be recalled from Afghanistan after Press broke embargo

By
Chris Hutchins

Warm-hearted, brave, but also recklessly impulsive, Prince Harry is as complex as he is charismatic.

Here,
in part three of a compelling new biography, we show how he idolised
the soldier who many unfairly whispered was his true father...

Heart to heart: Prince Harry with Prince Charles at the polo

Over dry martinis at Sandringham —
mixed to the servants’ special recipe — there was just one question on
the  Royal Family’s lips: ‘Where’s Harry?’

When
someone joked: ‘He’s confined to barracks — he’s been a naughty boy’,
the Queen smiled. Only she, and a tiny number of the family, were in on
the secret.

The truth was
that while Her Majesty and her guests were beginning their Christmas
celebrations in 2007, 2nd Lieutenant Wales was more than 3,500 miles
away in southern Helmand, war-torn Afghanistan’s most dangerous
province.

Even as his
relatives were plumping up the pillows on their four-poster beds Harry —
the first senior royal to fight on a battlefield since Queen Victoria’s
grandson Maurice in World War I — was surveying the tiny, cell-like
room at Forward Operating Base Delhi that was his temporary home.

‘We
couldn’t believe it when he arrived,’ says Lt Colonel Bill Connor.
‘There was no special security detail, no SAS. He came in like a regular
soldier and that’s how he remained. This was a prince, the third in
line to the British throne, yet he made it known that he wanted to be
treated just as the junior officer he was.’

That
Christmas Day, as the Queen and her party were cheered by well-wishers
outside Sandringham church, Harry Wales and Bill Connor stepped outside
for their morning exercises.

‘We
were actually working out when the Taliban opened up,’ remembers
Connor. ‘It was one of those fire-fights they regularly mounted from
their trenches close by. Harry and I made a run for the buildings — we
had no body armour on, just our PT kits.

Podium: (Left to right) Prince Harry, women's winner Priscah Jeptoo, men's winner Tsegaye Kebede and Sir Richard Branson

Royal presence: Prince Harry meets helpers at
the finish line. He praised both runners and supporters for making a
success of the event

The Prince said: 'It's fantastic, it's typically
British. People have been saying they haven't seen crowds like this for
eight years'

Brush with royalty: Delighted bystanders are greeted by the Prince

Military: Prince Harry passes a soldier in a bearskin hat at the finish line

Prize: The Prince presents Kurt Fearnley, winner of the Men's Wheelchair race, with his trophy

'Walking with the Wounded is something that I've been involved with for some time now,' he said. 'It's an amazing opportunity.

'The
only reason that I've signed up myself for this is well, firstly,
because I only managed to do four days last time. I got dragged back,
which was a horrible thing to do.

'But
any way that I can support these guys I will, if that means walking 280
miles or whatever it is - no one told me that when I signed up for it -
now I know it's a hell of a long way and I'll do my bit, get fed enough
because I don't want to hold the guys back.

'It's
going to be a fantastic race and a wonderful cause to raise awareness
for all these remarkable people around the world that are having to
continue their lies with injuries, whether they be mental or physical.'

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said it was important to show that Britain would 'carry on regardless' despite the Boston bombing.

He
told LBC 97.3 that his wife, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper,
thinks he is 'completely mad' for running a second time, despite
insisting 'never again' after last year's race.

Mr
Balls, who is raising money for the charities Action for Stammering
Children and Whizz-Kidz, said: 'In politics sometimes doing a U-turn is
the wise thing to do.'