He’s one of the most adored royal family members who looks to have finally found his princess, but long before Prince Harry fell for actress Meghan Markle, his other big love was Zimbabwean beauty Chelsy Davy.
And now royal reporter and former royal editor at The Sun Duncan Larcombe, who spent 10 years on the road with Prince Harry, has penned a new book on the prince’s fascinating life.
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According to Duncan, the prince was smitten with Chelsy from the moment they met, but their romance was never going to work, as she had very little interest in royal responsibility.
“The constant theme throughout Harry and Chelsy’s relationship was the battle between his position and her free-spiritedness,” a source explained in the book. “It was clear from the start that Chelsy was not interested in becoming a princess, with all the grandeur and baggage that would entail. But what option did Harry have?"
"He was besotted with Chelsy, and the fact that she wasn’t interested in all the trappings of royalty was one of the things he found so irresistible," the insider added.
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After an on-off romance spanning seven years, the perils of long-distance eventually got the best of them. With Harry serving in Afghanistan and Chelsy studying law at the University of Cape Town, in January 2009, Chelsy tellingly changed her Facebook relationship status to: “not in one.”
Ouch! They finally called it a day in 2011.
In a recent chat, Chelsy admitted she couldn't handle the intense attention: "[The scrutiny] was so full-on—crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope," she explained to U.K.'s The Times.
Despite their split, Chelsy said that they will "always be good friends."
Following his split with Chelsy, Harry had a fling with model Florence Brudenell-Bruce. But the well-connected Florence, who is affectionately known as Flee, was worried about Harry's playboy reputation.
“She felt he had a wandering eye all the time, and she wasn’t really into not knowing who he was flirting with or talking to when they were apart," a source claimed in the book. “So, she ended it. She didn’t want to carry on in a relationship that wasn’t going to go anywhere. Call it a summer fling. They both enjoyed themselves, but Flee wasn’t interested in taking things further.”
In 2012, the fifth in line to the British throne struck up a romance with aspiring actress and blue-blooded beauty Cressida Bonas.
Sadly, the media attention became too much for the 28-year-old, and in 2014, Kensington Palace confirmed they had amicably parted ways.
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According to Duncan, Harry was devastated that another relationship had come to an end because of his profile.
The pair first met after Prince Harry invited her to the launch of the second Invictus Games in 2016. Harry and Meghan kept in touch, with the 32-year-old reportedly "bombarding her with text messages" and doing "everything he could to persuade her to visit London again."
His persistence paid off, and the couple are about to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
Harry may have hit some bumps in the road along the way, but we're so happy for him and Meghan. Congrats to the happy couple!
This post was written by Bella Brennan. For more, check out our sister site Now To Love.
We can definitely see Harry growing a bushy little beard like this one.