Lengthy earlier than Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle, many puzzled whether or not he would marry his longtime girlfriend Chelsy Davy. After all, that by no means occurred, and a few of the the explanation why the younger lovers parted have been tragic, to say the least. Nevertheless, splitting from Harry is not the one tragedy Davy has endured. 

We’ll begin with Davy’s childhood. Although Harry’s ex-girlfriend has usually spoken fondly of her upbringing in Zimbabwe, she’s additionally spoken about features of her childhood being minimize quick on account of civil unrest within the nation. Talking to The Occasions about how land reform affected her household, she shared that each her mother and father’ and her grandmother’s farms had been seized. “It was a tricky, robust time,” she advised the outlet. Although her father maintained some belongings (extra on that later), she added that lots of the folks she knew started leaving the nation, and that she began worrying about her training when she observed quite a few lecturers leaving, too. She satisfied her mother and father to ship her to the U.Ok. for the remainder of her education, and she or he remained there for her highschool years.

After all, issues on the prestigious Cheltenham Girls Faculty and later Stowe College have been extremely completely different from what Davy had grown up with, and she or he advised The Occasions that she’d stood out when she first arrived. “Individuals have been like: ‘Who is that this weirdo from Zimbabwe?'” she recounted, including that rising up on a recreation farm, she hadn’t matured in fairly the identical method as a lot of her friends. “I used to be this harmless, stunted baby who’d been introduced up within the bush, just a little child. Let me inform you, 14-year-olds in England should not little youngsters,” she stated. Even so, she quickly clicked together with her new schoolmates, and she or he advised the outlet, “I made some fabulous pals.” 

Although Chelsy Davy had briefly met Prince Harry throughout her time within the U.Ok., it was solely when he was on his hole 12 months in Lesotho and she or he was learning on the College of Cape City that they turned an merchandise. He reached out to her whereas he was in Cape City, and the remainder of historical past. Nevertheless, as everybody is aware of, that wasn’t the tip of the story. 

Sadly for Chelsy, any hopes of a fairytale romance have been rapidly quashed by the press, which did not maintain again in its remedy of her. For one, The Occasions revealed a bit referring to the college pupil and her pal group as “Afro-trash.” The outlet additionally drew very unkind comparisons between Chelsy’s household and that of Prince William’s rumored ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig. Specifically, they painted an idyllic (learn: stereotype-laden) image of the Craigs’ property in Kenya, emphasizing the truth that they have been outdated cash, whereas scoffing at Chelsy’s Zimbabwean father, Charles Davy, being self-made. That also wasn’t all, although. The outlet additionally slammed the Davy household trip dwelling in Mozambique, the place Harry was stated to have been launched Chelsy’s mother and father, referring to their lodging for the journey as “a lodge frequented by the African equal of ‘Footballers’ Wives.'”

One other dig The Occasions made in its hit piece? That Chelsy was an aspiring mannequin with a cheesy portfolio who desperately wished to be well-known. A few years later, Chelsy debunked that in no unsure phrases. In an interview of her personal with the exact same outlet, Chelsy clarified that she’d all the time hated being photographed. As such, she stated of the modeling claims, “That is a horrible fiction.” Sluggish clap for Chelsy. 

Sadly for Chelsy Davy, her relationship with Prince Harry additionally prompted a ton of scrutiny over her household’s enterprise dealings. As some will recall, her father was known as out for his hyperlinks to late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. And, whereas it does appear as if Charles Davy had connections to Mugabe’s administration, quite a few kin claimed that his enterprise relationship with the nation’s then-Minister of Coverage Implementation, Webster Shamu, had been deliberately sensationalized by the press.  

As a short overview, many eyebrows have been raised within the early aughts when it appeared as if Charles Davy nonetheless had management of a few of his land whereas most white Zimbabweans had ceded theirs to the state. The Occasions made word of this, although it included a quote from his brother confirming that Charles had misplaced a few of his farms. “It isn’t as if he’s untouchable,” Vince Davy had stated. A number of years on, Charles’ brother-in-law — Chelsy’s mom’s brother — expanded some extra. Talking to Each day Mail in 2010, Ian Donald defined that Charles had retained a few of his land purely as a result of it was owned by American traders. “It was extra to do with the federal government’s choice that it was too dangerous to take these American-linked belongings,” Donald stated. Nevertheless, he reiterated, “His elements of the properties have been confiscated.”

Ins and outs apart, there is no query that Chelsy herself had nothing to do together with her father’s enterprise. Even so, many questioned if she was an appropriate decide for the royal household due to it. Evidently, the state of affairs turned dire sufficient that Charles felt compelled to talk out, and in 2005, he implored The Telegraph to “at the very least write the reality and restrict the opposed affect of all these untruths on my youngsters.”

If merciless hit items and big scandals revolving round her household weren’t sufficient for a then-university pupil to undergo, Chelsy Davy additionally had one other main stress to cope with. Proper from the second her relationship with Prince Harry went public, marriage hypothesis started.   

After all, a few of that hypothesis was helped alongside by Chelsy’s uncle Paul Davy, who advised the Each day Mail, “Sure, they need to marry.” It is attainable that that had been a casual remark and that he’d realized instantly after saying it that it might create huge media furore, as in the identical interview, he made some extent of noting that despite the fact that the couple was deeply in love, that did not imply Harry was about to pop the query. Talking of their being in Bazaruto, he shared, “I would not say [an engagement is] the aim they’re in Mozambique. They’re on vacation there.” 

A number of days later, Paul spoke with The Mail on Sunday, although we doubt his intentions have been like these of Kate Middleton’s personal shady uncle, Gary Goldsmith. Slightly, it is probably his feedback have been a mixture of injury management and wanting to talk out towards all the pieces that had been stated in regards to the household. Along with telling the outlet his niece and the prince had solely been collectively for just a few months, he additionally identified that Davy being Zimbabwean would in all probability be a difficulty for the royal household and that it was unlikely Harry would ever get to see the place she’d grown up. “Do you truthfully consider that the British authorities will let Harry come to this nation? They will not,” he stated. Sadly, whatever the intent, all of it added to even higher media consideration on Harry and Chelsy.  

Whereas a lot of what was written about Chelsy Davy throughout her relationship with Prince Harry revolved round who her household was and the place she was from, one other element that prompted hypothesis over her suitability for the then-twenty-something royal was the truth that she appreciated to celebration. Take into accout, Davy was a 19-year-old college pupil when the issues first arose.

After finishing her undergraduate diploma on the College of Cape City, Davy studied legislation at Leeds College. And, throughout her years-long on-and-off relationship with Harry, she additionally began working at London legislation agency Allen & Overy. Talking to The Occasions, she shared that throughout the early years of her profession, she labored virtually nonstop. “Again-to-back offers, working until 4.a.m., convention name at 8. We would not even go dwelling, simply sleep within the workplace. They’ve these tiny dorm rooms,” she recounted. Nevertheless, her profession development wasn’t what made the information. “Should you exit as soon as, they take an image, however they do not take an image of you going to work each morning, it is of you falling out of a nightclub,” she shared. 

It is value noting that Davy was very gracious whereas talking of the best way she’d been portrayed throughout that point of her life. “They are often forgiven for not realizing I used to be working actually exhausting, I did not shout about it,” she stated. What’s extra, she additionally joked that despite the fact that she was a better achiever than she was given credit score for on the time, she actually did have a “work exhausting, play exhausting” mentality in her early 20s. “I did exit and celebration quite a bit,” she confessed.

It is no secret that the actual motive Chelsy Davy and Prince Harry broke up was the fixed media scrutiny they confronted. In actual fact, within the years since they parted methods, each Davy and Harry have spoken about simply how a lot the fixed consideration they obtained affected them. 

Talking to The Occasions, Davy stated of being hounded by paparazzi, “It was so full-on: loopy and scary and uncomfortable. I discovered it very troublesome when it was unhealthy. I could not cope.” She added that the truth that it was all occurring in her late teenagers and early twenties solely made issues worse. “I used to be making an attempt to be a standard child and it was horrible,” she recounted. She additionally shared that it had change into inconceivable to deal with her profession whereas she was being continually adopted, and that as quickly as she and Harry broke up, she jetted again to Zimbabwe. 

As for what Harry has stated in regards to the toll the paparazzi and press had on his relationship with Davy, he wrote in “Spare” that they’d frank discussions over whether or not they might have a future collectively. Placing into perspective simply how poisonous the state of affairs was, Harry wrote that he likened his fame to “a power sickness, one thing to be managed.” Sadly (and unsurprisingly), Davy wasn’t overly eager on the thought. “She wasn’t positive she wished to have a power sickness,” he wrote. In the end, after quite a few break-ups, they cut up for good and reportedly had an emotional discuss the day earlier than he wed Meghan Markle, agreeing that they have been higher aside. Davy has since moved on with husband Sam Cutmore-Scott. 

As for what occurred to Chelsy Davy after she and Prince Harry broke up for the final time, some could know that she determined to enter enterprise. Specifically, she began her very personal moral jewellery model, Aya. In 2020, she advised Tatler that the model can be expanded into luxurious tourism in Cape City and Zambia, as nicely. Nevertheless, in February 2025, the Each day Mail reported that she was closing down the journey aspect of issues. 

Sadly, timing performed an enormous position within the closure of Aya Luxurious Journey. Again in 2020, Davy poked enjoyable on the state of affairs in an interview with Spear’s, acknowledging, “I launched my journey firm the week earlier than lockdown. So, that is nice. I am not going to lie — the journey hasn’t gone swimmingly to date.” Sadly, despite the fact that she hoped to see issues flip round, Davy formally filed to dissolve the corporate in February 2025. 

As for the jewellery aspect of issues, that took a little bit of a backseat throughout the Covid years as nicely, although Davy herself has hinted at welcoming her two youngsters being a part of the explanation why. Both method, in September 2024, she shared through Instagram that she was again with a brand new assortment. “POV: it has been three years and two infants since your final new assortment, however you are mega-excited to be again within the recreation,” she wrote beneath a smiley snap of herself. In January 2025, she gushed over the quantity of assist she’d acquired post-relaunch. “I’m so excited for all that’s to return in 2025 — keep tuned!” she posted. David has been via rather a lot over time, but it surely’s secure to say she’s all the time been dedicated to carving out her personal path.