A BOGUS plot to steal a lock of Prince Harry’s hair led St James’s Palace to make public false rumours that the Prince of Wales is not his father.

The palace’s bungling has also left it facing the threat of legal action from a tabloid newspaper editor wrongly accused of mounting a sting operation against the Prince.

The bizarre story began last week when St James’s Palace received a letter from a firm of solicitors alleging that a tabloid newspaper was planning to steal the young Prince’s hair to try to establish from DNA tests whether James Hewitt, who had a long relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, was Prince Harry’s father.

Mr Hewitt, who was not in Britain in the 12 months before Prince Harry was born, has scoffed at the suggestion he is his father. But Sir Michael Peat, private secretary to the Prince of Wales, took seriously the letter, which accused the News of the World of hiring a teenage girl to use in a “honey trap” to get the Prince’s hair.

Sir Michael, who began work for Prince Charles in September, first called in the police. Then, bypassing media advisers and the Press Complaints Commission, which has full access to newspaper editors, he called Rebekah Wade, Editor of the News of the World, and effectively pronounced her guilty as charged in the solicitor’s letter.

In a heated conversation he warned Ms Wade that he would be writing to her, on behalf of the Prince of Wales, to register the disappointment of the palace at her conduct. Ms Wade told Sir Michael that if he put anything in writing it would leak, ensuring that the rumours about Prince Harry and Mr Hewitt would enter the public domain.

Sir Michael sent the letter and the rumours were splashed over the Sunday newspapers.

The News of the World’s lawyers have studied the letter from Sir Michael, who is conducting the palace investigation into the sale of royal gifts, and say legal action is an option. Ms Wade is to write to the Prince of Wales to complain about Sir Michael’s behaviour and to blame the palace for making the story about Prince Harry public.

The first hints of a plot involving DNA and Prince Harry’s hair were conveyed to St James’s Palace in the summer. The suggestion was that the sting would be conducted by a foreign publication, but the palace did not take it seriously.

Any British newspaper involved in any such operation would be in breach of every privacy clause in Press Complaints Commission code of practice. All British papers have also agreed not to invade the Princes’ privacy while they are in full-time education.

St James’s Palace declined to comment yesterday and Ms Wade was not available for comment. Stuart Kuttner, managing editor of the News of the World, said: “The allegation that we would attempt to obtain a sample of Prince Harry’s hair is preposterous. We did not do this, never attempted to do this, and it has never crossed our minds to do so.

“If this is the approach Sir Michael Peat is adopting in his investigation into sleaze at the palace we can only assume he will find everyone guilty, regardless of any evidence. The whole notion is bonkers.”

It emerged yesterday that Mr Hewitt had been set up by the News of the World, which sent a reporter posing as the middleman for a Swiss businessman to buy 64 intimate letters from the Princess. He was reported to have asked £10 million for them.

Michael Coleman, his solicitor, said: “The letters belong to James Hewitt, he is free to sell them if he wants to.” Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace declined to comment.

Mr Hewitt, 44, once said he would “never dream” of selling the hand-written love letters. Even if they letters are sold they could never be published as the copyright is owned by the Spencer family, who would never give permission.

• An inquiry has been launched into how a drunk intruder entered St James’s Palace at night without being stopped by security.

  Police could not confirm one report that the man was seized only after he spent 20 minutes inside the grounds and knocked at the door of the Princess Royal, apparently seeking directions to Victoria station.

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