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 all the others. 

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 jewellery range – 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 had been born and raised in Zimbabwe before moving to Cape Town, first met the prince at Berkshire Polo Club but a relationship didn’t spark until years later, in 2004, when they got together when Harry was in the South African capital with his friends.

They were hosting a barbecue, so the prince called to invite her over, Harry recalled in his memoir, Spare. She arrived with her brother and friend by her side. 

Harry was drawn to her because of how ‘wholly unconcerned’ she was with his royal status.

She didn’t have ‘throne syndrome,’ as Harry described it, and wasn’t interested in knowing much about the regal formalities of his family. 

Prince Harry kissing Chelsy Davy in the Royal Box during a match at 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, attending a ball at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in October 2011

She also had a similar connection to Africa as Harry, and the pair spent the evening bonding over their shared love for the continent.

Chelsy had gone to a British boarding school but would rush home in the holidays – it was a feeling Harry related to. 

As the prince wrote, ‘She got it’ – and it was the basis of their growing romantic connection. 

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 hiking – and shared their first kiss – before she returned home to Cape Town. 

She announced the birth of her daughter by launching her new jewellery range on social media – the Chloe Collection – named after her child 

The prince and his then girlfriend attending a remembrance service in Windsor in May 2008

Chelsy with Kate Middleton while Prince William and Prince Harry play in a charity polo match in 2006

Chelsy smiles with Prince William at the wedding of Melissa Percy and Thomas van Straubenzee in 2013

Chelsy joining Prince Harry at the Mahiki nightclub in London in 2007

Africa provided them with a safe haven without paparazzi, but when, later on, they 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 as the daughter of a businessman and farmer – wasn’t very keen. 

Harry took the entrance exams for Sandhurst – a military academy where both he and his brother, Prince William, would eventually both graduate from. 

After receiving his start date, he reached out to Chelsy again and was invited to stay at her parents’ house in Cape Town. 

Harry recalled: ‘If you designed in-laws from the ground up, you couldn’t do much better than these guys.’

He returned to Africa multiple times to see Chelsy. On one trip, when he had a month off duty, he spent time at her parents’ house before the pair went to Botswana together. 

The couple kissing in the royal box at The Concert for Diana in July 2007

Prince Harry playing polo while 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 began to question if he wanted to ask her to deal with the pressures of life with a member of the Royal Family.

Harry recalled how Chelsy began to be followed by paparazzi while at university in Leeds, and it continued when she returned to Cape Town too. 

A tracking device was found under her car, and Chelsy herself questioned if she wanted that kind of life.

In October 2006, Harry went to Chelsy’s 21st birthday party in Cape Town and wore a fedora paired with a T-shirt with a picture of Chelsy on the back and the words on the front: ‘Spike [one of his nicknames], official bodyguard to Miss CD.’

The Mail reported at the time how Chelsy referred to Harry in a speech as ‘my darling Haz’, while the prince told anyone who would listen how proud he was of her.

But their relationship came to an end in May 2010, and they went to Botswana for the final time after he graduated from a helicopter training course. 

Chelsy pushes a luggage trolley out of Heathrow Airport after just landing from Cape Town in 2005

Chelsy attending Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s wedding in 2018

Harry was due to be deployed again soon and Chelsy ‘wanted to travel, have fun, be young’ without the pressures 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 ‘spent much of the night dancing together’. 

However, a friend said how Chelsy, ‘has watched what Kate has gone through and how much she has had to sacrifice, and says it’s not for her’.

In the end, the pair drifted apart and Harry went on to marry Meghan Markle in 2018. 

Chelsy attended his wedding alongside another ex-girlfriend, Cressida Bonas. Later that same year, she also went to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s wedding.