King Charles Made 'Sadistic,' 'Unfunny' Joke About Prince Harry's 'Real' Father: Book

Prince Harry claimed that King Charles made "sadistic" jokes about his "real" father.

In his new memoir "Spare," the Duke of Sussex alleged that Charles seemingly enjoyed making hurtful comments about his parentage amid public speculation that Harry's true father was Princess Diana's former lover Major James Hewitt.

"Pa liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire. He'd always end with a burst of philosophizing ... Who knows if I'm really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I'm even your real father?" Prince Harry claimed in his upcoming book, Page Six reported.

"He'd laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumor circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy's former lovers: Major James Hewitt. One cause of this rumor was Major Hewitt's flaming ginger hair, but another cause was sadism," he alleged.

Prince Harry noted in the book that King Charles never spoke to him about the rumors involving Hewitt directly.

However, the prince claimed that tabloid readers loved the idea that his dad was not actually Charles.

"Maybe it made them feel better about their lives that a young prince's life was laughable. Never mind that my mother didn't meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born," he added.

Buckingham Palace told Page Six that it will not comment on the contents of Prince Harry's book.

Prince Harry's mother Princess Diana had a five-year affair with Hewitt after meeting him at a dinner party in 1986.

Hewitt denied the rumors surrounding Prince Harry's paternity in a previous interview. He pointed out that the prince had already been born by the time his affair with Diana started.

"Admittedly the red hair is similar to mine and people say we look alike," Hewitt told Sunday Mirror in 2002. "I have never encouraged these comparisons and although I was with Diana for a long time I must state once and for all that I'm not Harry's father. When I met Diana, he was already a toddler."

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell also debunked the rumors. According to him, Prince William and Prince Harry's mom was furious about the speculations surrounding her younger son's parentage.

"It's something that's been made up. It was just because Harry had red hair, but all the Spencers have red hair," Burrell said.

Ken Wharfe, who had served as a personal protection officer for Princess Diana, echoed the same sentiment in his book, "Diana: Closely Guarded Secret."

"The malicious rumors that still persist about the paternity of Prince Harry used to anger Diana greatly," Wharfe wrote. "Harry was born on 15 September 1984. Diana did not meet James until the summer of 1986, and the red hair, gossips so love to cite as proof is, of course, a Spencer trait."

Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" will hit shelves Tuesday.