Memes claiming James Hewitt being Prince Harry's father go viral as Prince Charles cured

Prince Harry has once again become the target of online trolls, who are circulating memes on the social media sites bizarrely suggesting that he is not the biological son of Prince Charles.

The memes that are going viral on WhatsApp, as well as social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, claim that Prince Harry's biological father is James Hewitt, British Army officer and former lover of his late mother Princess Diana. The disturbing conspiracy theory has resurfaced at a time when Harry is believed to be heartbroken that he is far away from father Prince Charles when he has tested positive for coronavirus.

One of the bizarre memes shows Harry with elder brother Prince William, responding with "Mine hasn't" when William says "Dad's got coronavirus." Another picture of the brother-duo is doing rounds on the internet with the same joke.

Meanwhile, another Twitter user wrote: "Just heard Prince Harry's father has COVID-19. My thoughts are with James Hewitt and the rest of his family at this difficult time.."

The bizarre theory, based on the fact that Harry and Hewitt both have ginger hair, has surrounded the British prince since childhood. The rumours were often accompanied by pictures of the pair coincidentally looking alike, and the fact that they share a close relationship, reports Daily Star Online.

The outlet had earlier reported that Harry has inherited his ginger locks from a family member on his mother's side. Besides, Hewitt has himself denied the rumours on several occasions revealing that he did not even know Diana before Harry's birth in 1984. The last time the 61-year-old addressed the rumours was in 2017 when he was asked if he was Harry's biological father in an interview on Australian Channel Seven's "Sunday Night" show.

"No, I'm not," Hewitt had said, noting that the rumours might have persisted because they sell papers. "It's worse for him, probably, poor chap," he said about the 35-year-old prince, who recently quit as a working royal with wife Meghan Markle and shifted to America with her and son Archie.