Chelsy Davy was "the one who got away" from Prince Harry. But what
really happened between them? Here's how the press put an end to their fairy tale.
Before marrying Meghan Markle, Prince Harry enjoyed bachelorhood and dated many women.
"He had a list, apparently, of what he was looking for."
"Let's not go there."
He had some long-term relationships, though, most notably with Chelsy Davy. The pair met at the
Berkshire Polo Club in England but started dating in 2004 after meeting again in Cape Town, South
Africa. Harry traveled on his gap year and Davy studied at university there and they connected
instantly. As Harry wrote in his memoir, "Spare," he liked her bold personality. He remembered,
In the next three years, the couple kept a long-distance relationship before Davy moved
to Britain in 2007. However, they split soon after her arrival because, as the Guardian reported,
she wanted a serious, committed relationship and he didn’t. Yet, that wasn’t the end.
They reunited and Davy made her first official appearance as Harry’s girlfriend at a royal
event in 2008. There were still problems, though, and they separated in 2009. Then,
according to "Spare," they ended for good in 2010 because Davy disliked a life in
the spotlight. But it seems that Harry and Chelsy’s on-off relationship lasted
longer than that, and could have led to marriage, if not for the press.
In 2011, the exes met at Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton and,
as Harry wrote in "Spare," what happened there surprised him. He confessed,
It seems those feelings prevailed because, according to Us Weekly,
they partied together until 6 a.m. and a source said, "they were acting like a
couple and kissed in front of everyone." Another source told the Daily Mail,
Jump to 2012 and an insider told Us Weekly,
In 2015, The Sun reported they had reunited in Africa, with a source claiming,
Indeed, Harry’s 2023 lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers revealed that the tabloids’ alleged
phone hacking ruined his relationship with Davy and, according to Us Weekly,
led Davy to make the decision that "a royal life was not for her." Harry’s lawyers even
argued that without the press, their union could have been more successful and longer-lasting.
So who is Chelsy Davy? Apart from occasional public appearances,
she pursues her own passions away from the tabloids. Born in Zimbabwe,
Davy is the daughter of millionaire Charles Davy, who earned a fortune from hunting safaris. She
followed his line of work and launched a luxury travel agency called AYA Africa Travel in 2020.
Before that, though, she aimed to practice law. According to her LinkedIn, Davy has a
Bachelor’s in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Cape Town in South Africa,
as well as a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Leeds in England.
She started her career as a trainee at a London law firm in 2011 but quit in 2014
when she realized it wasn’t the right fit. She later told the Sunday Times,
After getting a diploma from the Gemological Institute of America, Davy founded a jewelry line,
AYA Jewels, in 2016. Her designs are crafted and ethically sourced in Africa
and the designs reflect her home continent. As she told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia in 2018,