It was once thought that Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend, could become a part
of the royal family. Although Harry ultimately found love again with Meghan Markle, here's
the truth about Prince Harry's relationship with his first love, Chelsy Davy.
Like his brother Prince William and countless other British teens before him, Prince Harry
chose to take a gap year before continuing his education. After finishing his studies
at Eton in 2003, Prince Harry reportedly spent the first part of his gap year in Australia
working as a cowboy on a cattle ranch. However, according to the book Harry: Conversations
with the Prince, Harry's period in Australia was not the fun and relaxing time away from
the limelight he may have been expecting. After a couple of months in Australia, Harry
traveled to South Africa, which is where his relationship with Chelsy Davy began.
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl's book William and Harry: Behind the Palace
Walls, Prince Harry's time in South Africa was largely spent doing charity work. However,
he took a handful of trips to Cape Town in 2004, where he met up with Davy again after
the two originally met through a mutual friend in England.
Though Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy had initially met in England, their relationship didn't
really take off until Harry's extended gap year in South Africa. Harry was apparently
instantly love-struck by Davy on their first meeting, and when they met up again in South
Africa, according to the book William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls,
"[Harry had] every intention of reconnecting with [Chelsy Davy]."
Harry has always loved Africa, and his special connection to the continent helped him cope
after the death of his mother, Princess Diana. According to People, the prince revealed in
2019 during a trip to Botswana,
"I came here in 1997, 1998 straight after my mom died, so it was a nice place to get
away from it all [...] But now I feel deeply connected to this place and to Africa.”
Throughout his time in South Africa, Harry reportedly visited Davy often. As they continued
getting to know each other while exploring Cape Town on Harry's weekend visits, their
relationship grew more serious. According to the book Harry: Conversations with the
Prince,
"Harry fell head over heels and wrote to a trusted former school friend to say that Chelsy
was 'the love of my life — this one's unreal.'"
The royal family's relationship with the media is complicated, and maintaining privacy has
always been a challenge for them. In an interview with ITV News, Prince Harry revealed,
"Every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see
a flash, it takes me straight back."
"And those people that caused the accident, instead of helping, were taking photographs
of her dying on the backseat."
The prince was referring to his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident as the paparazzi
relentlessly pursued her through Paris in 1997. As a result, this strained relationship
with the media has been a constant theme throughout Prince Harry's life.
According to royal biographer Angela Levin's book Harry: Conversations with the Prince,
Harry wished to keep his relationship with Davy private during its early stages. However,
that all went out the window once a photographer spotted them kissing in South Africa. As Levin
wrote,
"From then on, Chelsy was harassed by the media, eager for a story on Harry's love life.
She hated all the attention."
Meeting your significant other's family is stressful under any circumstance, but when
it comes to meeting the royal family, the pressure is unimaginable. Chelsy Davy must've
made a good impression, though, as she was apparently well-liked. According to Katie
Nicholl's book, Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, Harry introduced Davy to his father, Prince
Charles, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, over a Valentine's Day visit. That first meeting
reportedly went so well that Davy was then invited on a family ski trip.
Nearly everyone knows the feel-good story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's early
romance. After just a couple of dates, the pair took a giant leap and went on a romantic
getaway to Botswana, where they camped in a tent under the stars. The trip was so important
to their relationship that later, when Harry proposed to Meghan, he did so with a stunning
engagement ring featuring a diamond sourced from Botswana.
"I was like, 'Can I give you the ring?' She goes, 'Oh yes, the ring."
Nevertheless, Meghan wasn't the first woman Harry whisked away to Botswana. In fact, the
country was a favorite of Harry and Chelsy Davy back when they were together. According
to the book Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, Harry fell in love with Botswana when he was just
13 years old, so it's no surprise he's chosen to take the special women in his life there.
For Harry and Davy, getaways to Botswana provided the couple with much-needed private time away
from the watchful eyes of the paparazzi.
While most of us get to live out our young adult years without the paparazzi scrutinizing
our decisions, the British press has made a headline out of Prince Harry's every move,
and in his early twenties, Harry earned somewhat of a bad boy reputation.
The tabloids wasted no time in connecting him with other women while he was still involved
with Chelsy Davy. According to the book William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls, the summer
of 2006 was a difficult time in the couple's relationship. A slew of women came forward
claiming to have had some sort of relationship with Harry, causing trouble in the couple's
already challenging relationship.
The moment that is perhaps most synonymous with Prince Harry's early twenties reputation
came in 2005 when Prince Harry made the extremely misguided decision to wear a Nazi costume
to a friend's party. If at this point he wasn't aware of just how consequential his actions
were, this was almost certainly his wake-up call. Understandably, Harry was heavily criticized
by world leaders and Holocaust survivors alike. As noted in Harry: Conversations with the
Prince,
"Clarence House issued a statement: 'Prince Harry has apologized for any offence or embarrassment
he has caused. He realizes it was a poor choice of costume.'"
Even though the royal family was quick to put out an official apology, the public outcry
for Harry's supreme lapse in judgment wouldn't go away. According to Levin,
"Harry was wholly distraught and turned to Chelsy, who agreed to fly over to be with
him. He appreciated her total support, clear-headedness, intelligence and warmth."
The cost of dating a prince is a hefty one with its constant media attention and zero
privacy. Though the early months of Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy's relationship were
private, once they were caught kissing on camera, it was game over. While Harry was
relatively safe from the media during his time at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,
his girlfriend wasn't, as she was tracked by photographers and was followed everywhere.
Even when she was in South Africa, there was apparently simply no escape for the prince's
girlfriend. Years later, in a 2015 interview with The Times, Davy revealed,
"It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad.
I couldn't cope."
Just a few months after Chelsy Davy moved to England to be closer to Prince Harry, and
to attend a post-graduate program at the University of Leeds, she seemingly called off their relationship
altogether. According to the book William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls, Harry's
flirtation with a waitress was a breaking point for Davy. After moving across the world
to be with Harry, Davy found that it wasn't exactly all she thought it would be.
There were reportedly other factors that contributed to their break, too. For instance, Davy felt
like Harry wasn't putting in the effort and the two slowly drifted apart, even while they
lived closer together than ever before. However, this wasn't truly the end of the couple's
love story, and they soon gave their relationship another chance.
"I don't think you can force these things. It'll happen when it's going to happen."
Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy got their relationship back on track just a few weeks after breaking
up in 2007. After Harry returned from a secret posting in Afghanistan in 2008, the prince
reportedly began visiting Davy at Leeds regularly. Their weekends together in Leeds were apparently
fun, relaxed, and most importantly, private.
As the book Harry: Life, Loss, and Love detailed, the prince and his girlfriend enjoyed weekends
in Leeds together because they could be away from the public eye. Notably, Davy's roommates
never blabbed to the press about the couple's whereabouts, so Leeds became a sort of sanctuary
for the couple. Though the humble weekends at Davy's house were vastly different from
Harry's usually lavish life, spending time in the city together was just what the prince
and his girlfriend needed to solidify their relationship.
By 2009, Chelsy Davy and Prince Harry had been together for around five years, and it
reportedly became clear to Davy that it just wasn't going to be a lifelong relationship.
In what was probably one of the most relatable celebrity breakup moves of all time, Davy
announced her relationship with Harry was over by changing her relationship status on
Facebook. According to The Telegraph, an "informed source" revealed,
"They are two young people who have gone their separate ways for good."
Though their relationship had clearly run its course, the finality of Davy's online
relationship status change was a slap in the face for Harry. According to Katie Nicholl's
book, The Making of a Royal Romance: William, Kate, and Harry, the prince hadn't even told
his father of the split before Davy made it public news.
Your 20s are some of the most formative years of your life. That's when you experience the
world as an adult and have to really find your own footing. Relationships during this
age are tricky. You could be madly in love with your partner, but still not even really
know who you are yet. As such, it's easy to see why this royal couple called it quits.
According to the book Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, a mutual friend of Prince Harry and
Chelsy Davy revealed,
"It just seems to be a case that it was the right person for Harry but the wrong time."
Davy had weathered the scrutiny and media attention that came along with dating a royal,
but after several years in the spotlight, it had seemingly become too much to bear.
Additionally, The Telegraph reported that Prince Harry had seemingly grown to prefer
partying and nights out with his friends over spending time with Davy.
While Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy ended their relationship in January 2009, that certainly
wasn't the last time the couple had any contact with each other. In fact, speculation over
the couple's relationship status ramped up when Davy attended a ceremony to watch Prince
Harry receive his pilot's wings in May 2010.
What finally marked the end of the couple's relationship was Prince William and Kate Middleton's
wedding in April 2011. According to Marie Claire, an insider revealed,
"Harry has said he would like Chelsy on the list because they are back in touch, even
if she just comes over as a friend."
However, according to Angela Levin in her book, Harry: Conversations with the Prince,
"A friend revealed that seeing the enormity and pomp of the day convinced [Davy] that
she and Harry had been right to separate."
The royal life was truly not for Davy.
Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy spent five long years together, and though they may have felt
that breaking up was the right call, that didn't make it any easier. Even years later,
Harry reportedly called Davy days before his marriage to Meghan Markle, and the two had
a very emotional conversation. Davy's friend allegedly revealed to Vanity Fair,
"It was their final call, a parting call in which they both acknowledged Harry was moving
on."
Just a few years prior to Harry and Meghan's wedding, there was still some lingering hope.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl confirmed to InStyle,
"Right up until 2015 they were trying to give it another chance."
The finality of Harry's wedding was reportedly a lot for Davy to handle, so much so that
she almost pulled out of going to his wedding altogether. At the end of the day, though,
Davy donned a navy blue dress and joined Harry's other ex, Cressida Bonas, in watching Prince
Harry get married to Markle in May 2018.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more List videos about the royal
family are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.