Who is Chelsy Davy? Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend discussed in phone hacking trial

Prince Harry blamed the “prying eyes of the tabloids” for his breakup with Chelsy Davy in his witness statement.

Prince Harry alleged that press intrusion led to his split from ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, a Zimbabwean businesswoman whom he dated from 2004 to 2011, during the second day of questioning in his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for alleged phone hacking. Prince Harry blamed the “prying eyes of the tabloids” for their breakup saying in his witness statement, “Our relationship was long distance for the majority of the time we were together, with Chelsy and I often living in different countries, so we relied on communicating by phone a lot."

Britain's Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy attend the friendly international rugby union match between England and Australia at Twickenham in London on November 7, 2009. (File)

“We, naturally, spoke about all types of personal matters, including all aspects of our relationship and this was often through voicemail,” he said, adding, “As my girlfriend, I trusted Chelsy with the most private of information and visa versa.”

Prince Harry accused MGN of “blagging” the couple’s flight details and hotel bookings as well as intercepting their voicemails. “We were never on our own and able to enjoy each other’s company away from the prying eyes of the tabloids. This put a huge amount of unnecessary stress and strain on our relationship," Prince Harry said.

“At no point did I have a girlfriend or a relationship with anyone without the tabloids getting involved and ultimately trying to ruin it using whatever unlawful means at their disposal," he continued.

Here’s everything you need to know about Chelsy Davy:

1. Chelsy Davy is a businesswoman hailing from Zimbabwe.
2. She was born in the African nation and grew up on her family’s game reserve.
3. She spent her teenage years in UK attending boarding school at Cheltenham College, before later moving to Stowe School.
4. She then received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Cape Town in 2006 and a law degree from the University of Leeds in 2009.
5. Chelsy Davy and Prince Harry dated on and off for seven years, between 2004 and 2011.
6. They met in Cape Town in 2004 during his gap year. After meeting, the pair began dating and she took on a degree in law at the University of Leeds.
7. Chelsy Davy was also seen at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where Prince Harry completed 44 weeks of training in 2005.
8. She was reported to have met Queen Elizabeth at a society wedding during the time the couple dated. She was also invited to the then-Prince Charles’s 60th birthday.
9. In Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, the royal wrote that he warmed to Chelsy Davy because she seemed “wholly unconcerned with appearances” or “royalty”. “Unlike so many girls I met, she wasn’t visibly fitting herself for a crown the moment she shook my hand. She seemed immune to that common affliction sometimes called throne syndrome,” Prince Harry wrote.
10. In 2017, Chelsy Davy talked about the press attention she received while with Prince Harry saying, “It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn’t cope. I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible.”