A US reality TV star who claimed she had a fling with Prince Harry was arrested after allegedly leaving a hotel in Majorca without paying her bill, although she insists she is innocent.
Catherine Ommanney, 53, was held on Sunday afternoon on suspicion of fraud after a hotel manager reported her to police in the morning.
Ommanney, who claimed to have enjoyed passionate romps with Harry when he was 21, and she was 34, was accused of leaving the three-star Playas del Rey Hotel in Santa Ponsa near Magaluf without settling a bill totalling more than £434 for a nine-day stay.
Police sources confirmed the arrest, and she appeared before a judge yesterday evening in the Majorcan capital, Palma. Ommanney was later released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.
Following the arrest and court appearance, the interior designer declared: ‘It’s all bulls**t. The bill was paid’.
She added: ‘I have proof the bill was paid in full. It was a technical error on the hotel’s behalf, and I will be seeking an apology through the justice system.’
Island newspaper Ultima Hora earlier reported that Ommanney, who was one of the five original main cast members in the first season of the Real Housewives of DC, had reserved her hotel stay using a card ‘with no funds’ on it.
She was pictured leaving a court cell, accompanied by a Civil Guard officer, around 7pm yesterday to head to the courtroom for the hearing behind closed doors.
Catherine Ommanney, 53, was held on Sunday afternoon on suspicion of fraud after a hotel manager reported her to police in the morning. Pictured: Ommanney at court in Palma
Ommanney opened up in November 2022 about the two-month fling she says she had with Harry in 2006 after meeting him in a bar
She did not comment on her release from custody. It is not yet clear where she was arrested.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard confirmed this morning: ‘A 53-year-old British woman was arrested yesterday on suspicion of fraud after the representative of a hotel in Santa Ponsa reported her for allegedly leaving the establishment without paying her hotel bill.’
Well-placed sources said she had stayed at the Playas del Rey Hotel between January 2 and 11.
Ommanney’s lawyer said this morning she had not read the press reports about her client’s arrest and would not be commenting without her authorisation.
A receptionist at Playas del Rey Hotel in Santa Ponsa also said this morning that the manager was off for the day and no one else was available to speak to the press.
Ommanney opened up in November 2022 about the two-month fling she says she had with Harry in 2006 after meeting him in a bar.
She told The Sun on Sunday she was speaking out because she didn’t think the short relationship would be featured in his memoir Spare.
She said: ‘It was clear he wasn’t a virgin when we met. He was 21, and he was very sure of himself. He was a great kisser and obviously knew what he was doing.
‘He lifted me off the floor in a way that no man has ever done to me before or since – and Harry knew how to treat a woman. He was very giving, very passionate, lovely, and a total gentleman.’
Claiming she had nicknamed Harry ‘baby’ because he had a habit of sucking on lollipops, mum-of-three Catherine said: ‘I do believe he enjoyed my company because I’m a little bit older and wiser and not like the 20-year-olds or whatever he had been hanging out with.
The relationship fizzled out after they met a few times, according to Ommanney, although she said they were ‘friendly’ when they bumped into each other again in 2009 at a polo match
Ommanney claimed to have enjoyed passionate romps with Harry when he was 21, and she was 34
‘I had the patience to listen to what he said and give him some advice on life.
‘Harry was surrounded by young women that would throw themselves at him and I think he was searching for something deeper and more meaningful with someone wiser.
‘That’s maybe why he found me attractive. I didn’t realise what the age gap was because it wasn’t important to me.’
At the time she revealed their affair, she was said to be based in Majorca.
The relationship fizzled out after they met a few times, according to Ommanney, although she said they were ‘friendly’ when they bumped into each other again in 2009 at a polo match.