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Miserable Chelsy splits from Prince Harry because she 'needs space'
Last updated at 00:07am on 11.11.07Chelsy Davy has split from Prince Harry, telling him she 'needs space' to carve out her own identity.
The party-loving Zimbabwean told friends she was having a "trial separation" from the Prince while she studies at Leeds University and he pursues his Army career.
The couple began their separation in the style that has characterised their three-year relationship – partying hard at different nightclubs just a few miles away from each other in London.
Chelsy's decision to split from the Prince came less than a week after The Mail on Sunday revealed that the 22-year-old was desperately unhappy in Leeds.
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Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy have called time on their relationship
The news is sure to cause concern to the Queen, who will be worried that the separation, following the on-off romance between Prince William and Kate Middleton, will convince the public that the young Royals, like their parents' generation, are incapable of forming stable relationships.
Chelsy was said to have made a series of tearful telephone calls to the Prince last week – and she later confided to a close friend that Harry had agreed to the "trial separation".
A friend close to Chelsy told The Mail on Sunday: "This is not an over-for-good situation. Chelsy and Harry both love each other very much but Chelsy has had a lot to come to terms with over recent months since moving to the UK and has not found the transition an easy one.
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Chelsy is said to be miserable in Leeds while Harry is frustrated that he's not allowed to fight on the frontline
"She kept saying she needed to take some time out to re-establish herself. She still loves him, but she feels she needs to carve an identity as her own person rather than as Prince Harry's girlfriend.
"Over recent weeks she's been coming down to London and partying with Harry's friends. They were together at Amika nightclub in Kensington just two weeks ago when Chelsy appeared incredibly down and subdued.
"She was not her normal partying self. She had confided it was because she was missing Zimbabwe and her family in South Africa but in fact she was having doubts about her relationship with Prince Harry back then.
"While they care for each other deeply she needs to be able to be her own person. She is pragmatic about the split. They're using it as an opportunity to take a break rather than splitting for good."
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Chelsy doesn't disguise her displeasure when Harry was half an hour late meeting her 11-hour flight from Heathrow last month
But we can reveal today that Harry has had as many problems with his Army career as with his relationship with Chelsy.
He has told friends that he has threatened to leave the Household Cavalry and concentrate on charity work if he is not sent to Afghanistan to fight with his regiment.
Immediately after the split, Harry was back at Amika, partying hard with a group of five friends on Friday night – one of whom bore a remarkable resemblance to his old friend, TV presenter Natalie Pinkham. "She looked very pretty," said one onlooker.
He was overheard boasting that he planned to get "as drunk as possible" and ran up a £2,500 bar bill in only a few hours. Other guests noticed an ice bucket filled with a magnum of Dom Perignon champagne, at a cost of £400 a bottle.
Meanwhile Chelsy was on the other side of London, partying with friends from Leeds, where she is studying for her law postgraduate degree.
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Chelsy Davy: glamorous but miserable in Leeds
She is said to have been concerned about Harry's increasing appetite for alcohol, as well as not feeling able to trust the 23-year-old Prince when he was not by her side.
Last week this newspaper revealed that Chelsy's friends in Leeds had become concerned that she was becoming increasingly depressed about her situation.
Less than two months into her two-year course, she appeared to be finding it difficult to settle in and deal with a new country, climate and social scene.
Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy share an intimate moment
Her mother Beverly had initially stayed in Leeds to help her put down some roots, but she has now flown back to South Africa.
Chelsy is said to have found it hard to cope with swapping her privileged upbringing in Zimbabwe, where she has a penthouse apartment and a family ranch, for the dour surroundings of Leeds, where she lives in a redbrick terrace house.
And despite travelling 6,000 miles to be closer to her boyfriend, Chelsy has not seen as much of Harry as she might have liked.
They are still separated by a 200 miles, as he has had duties to perform at his barracks in Windsor with the Household Cavalry, where he holds the rank of Second Lieutenant.
She has been a frequent visitor to London and Windsor, but he has only made the trip to Yorkshire once in the last two months, making a flying visit.
Another friend told The Mail on Sunday: "They've coped with a long-distance relationship for that long but the chances are that like William and Kate, Harry and Chelsy will get back together. They adore each other but it's simply a case of both of them needing to take some time out."
Harry had hoped to go to Afghanistan with the rest of his comrades in the Household Cavalry's C squadron in a second deployment, after first being refused the posting in May. But last month he was told he would be too much of a target for terrorists.
"He has become so disincentivised that all he wants to do is get smashed with his friends and hang out with them," the friend added. "He hasn't paid Chelsy the attention she expected.
"When they were at Amika nightclub two weeks ago their body language spoke volumes. Just a few weeks before at the same club they were incredibly tactile, openly kissing and hugging. The second time, Chelsy looked miserable.
"The past fortnight has been incredibly upsetting for both of them. There have been numerous tearful conversations. Ultimately it was Chelsy who told Harry she needed time out, but she is hopeful they can work things out."
Chelsy is said to have been particularly upset that Harry chose to go to France to watch the Rugby World Cup final last month rather than attend her 22nd birthday party.
Reader views (8)
Well, she seems to have more class than him. He looks like a chav in those photos.
- George, London
Fred Johnson of California has written a very funny comment indeed, had my laughing out loud. Congratulations on your humour: your college students mus find you a most amusing teacher. I just hope no one thinks you are serious in your comments about Harry and his now ex-girlfriend. Long live California wit!
- Ben Croclett, UK
...and there's that oh so small matter of non-stop intrusion into her life just because of who he is. Not exactly everyday pressures for a regular 22 year old is it?
- Rogan, Dallas,TX
It is a shame, she is a great and spirited young girl, much more real than Middleton.
However, KM may yet leave our young femalehood a great gift (although she will be unaware of it): a real and vivid picture of what may happen to you if you squander your education, youth, ambitions, employability and energy on waiting around for years for a young man to commit to you - however 'eligible' he may be. I suspect, come her ignoble dumping for a girl who is more of a challenge, that this may be all she is here for.
- Zee, London
They are just doing what all young people do in UK. Partying, getting blind drunk, moving around , sharing friends. Leave them alone they are too young to start a real relationship. Come back in ten years then they can settle down.
- Jon Vickers, State College, USA
I wish them all the very best.
- Lisd, Oxford, UK
Incapable of forming a lasting relationship? He's 22 for Gods sake, give the boy a break!
- Claire, boston, USA
I coach college athletes about these two peoples' age.
It's terribly sad that they aren't allowed the privacy they need at this point.
People in their early 20s are just learning how to handle adult responsibilities. American research is finding that, very often, the children of privilege have as difficult a time of it than poor children.
If I were 22 and forbidden to meet my responsibilities to people whom I'd pledged a life-and-death commitment, I'd be enraged. And I'd feel powerless. And ashamed to be in that position. The fact that I had money and a title really wouldn't change that. What's so unusual about such a situation straining relationships with those one loves most?
A young girl, alone in a strange land -- perhaps limited to relationships with other peoples' friends -- logically will feel abandoned. When the one she loves is frozen in his own pain, so much the worst. Wealth does not make that less painful.
These are painful times which could change the rest of their lives. Couldn't the rest of us just give them a little space?
- Fred Johnson, San Ramon, California, USA
