Chelsy Davy’s romance with Prince Harry was sparked in Cape Town – with her brother and friend in tow! As she turns 39 today, a look back at the ex-royal girlfriend who did not have ‘throne syndrome’
She was Prince Harry’s girlfriend for seven years – and the one he said was ‘different’ from everyone else.
Chelsy Davy, who turns 39 today, recently welcomed her second child with her husband, Eton-educated hotelier Sam Cutmore-Scott.
She announced the birth of her daughter by launching a new jewelry line – the Chloe Collection – named after her baby, through her company Aya Jewels which she founded in 2016. The couple also have a son, Leo, born in 2022.
Chelsy, who was born and raised in Zimbabwe before moving to Cape Town, first met the prince at the Berkshire Polo Club, but a relationship only developed years later in 2004 when they got together. when Harry was in the South African capital with his friends.
They were organizing a barbecue, so the prince called to invite her, Harry recalled in his memoir Spare. She arrived with her brother and boyfriend by her side.
Harry was attracted to her because she was “completely unconcerned” about his royal status.
She didn’t have ‘throne syndrome’, as Harry described it, and didn’t want to know much about his family’s royal formalities.
Prince Harry kisses Chelsy Davy in the Royal Box during a match at the Guards Polo Club in July 2006
Chelsy Davy recently welcomed her second child with her Eton-educated hotelier husband Sam Cutmore-Scott
Chelsy Davy, who turns 39 today, attends a ball at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in October 2011
She also had a similar bond with Africa as Harry, and the pair spent the evening cherishing their shared love for the continent.
Chelsy had gone to a British boarding school but rushed home during the holidays – it was a feeling Harry had to deal with.
As the prince wrote, “She gets it” – and it was the basis of their growing romantic bond.
The evening was a success and Harry convinced Chelsy to join him and his friends on a trip to Botswana the next day.
They spent three days walking – and shared their first kiss – before returning to Cape Town.
She announced the birth of her daughter by launching her new jewelry line on social media: the Chloe Collection, named after her child
The prince and his then-girlfriend attended a memorial service in Windsor in May 2008
Chelsy with Kate Middleton as Prince William and Prince Harry play in a charity polo match in 2006
Chelsy laughs with Prince William at the wedding of Melissa Percy and Thomas van Straubenzee in 2013
Chelsy joined Prince Harry at the Mahiki nightclub in London in 2007
Africa offered them a safe haven without paparazzi, but when they later flew back to Britain together, they were soon photographed and their secret was out.
It was something Harry had more experience with, but Chelsy – who grew up the daughter of a businessman and farmer – wasn’t so keen.
Harry took the entrance exams for Sandhurst – a military academy from which both he and his brother, Prince William, would eventually both graduate.
After receiving his start date, he contacted Chelsy again and was invited to stay at her parents’ house in Cape Town.
Harry recalled, “If you were to design your in-laws from the ground up, you couldn’t do much better than these guys.”
He returned to Africa several times to see Chelsy. During one trip, when he had a month off, he spent time at her parents’ house before the couple headed to Botswana together.
The couple kissing in the royal box during The Concert for Diana in July 2007
Prince Harry plays polo as Chelsy and the then Prince Charles watch at Cirencester Park Polo Club in 2006
It was during that trip that he faced the reality of whether he could see a future with Chelsy, and he began to wonder whether he wanted to ask her to deal with the pressures of living with a member of the royal family.
Harry recalled how Chelsy was followed by paparazzi when she was at university in Leeds, and this continued when she returned to Cape Town too.
A tracking device was found under her car and Chelsy wondered if she wanted that kind of life.
In October 2006, Harry attended Chelsy’s 21st birthday party in Cape Town wearing a fedora paired with a T-shirt with a photo of Chelsy on the back and the words on the front: ‘Spike [one of his nicknames]official bodyguard of Miss CD.’
The Mail reported at the time how Chelsy called Harry ‘my darling Haz’ in a speech, as the prince told anyone who would listen how proud he was of her.
But in May 2010 their relationship ended and they went to Botswana for the last time after he completed helicopter training.
Chelsy pushing a luggage trolley out of Heathrow Airport after just landing from Cape Town in 2005
Chelsy attended Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s wedding in 2018
Harry would soon be deployed again and Chelsy “wanted to travel, have fun, be young” without the pressure of the media.
Despite their split, they remained amicable and Chelsy attended Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011 as Harry’s plus one.
The Mail reported at the time how they ‘danced together for much of the night’.
However, a friend said how Chelsy has “seen what Kate has been through and how much she has had to sacrifice and says it’s not for her.”
Ultimately, the couple drifted apart and Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018.
Chelsy attended his wedding with another ex-girlfriend, Cressida Bonas. Later that same year, she also attended the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.