Chelsy Davy

Zimbabwean businesswoman (born 1985)

Sam Cutmore-Scott
​
(m. 2022)​
Children1

Chelsy Yvonne Davy (born 13 October 1985) is a Zimbabwean businesswoman. She is the owner and founder of the jewellery brand Aya and the travel agency Aya Africa.

Early life and education

Davy was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to Charles Davy, a South African safari farmer, and Beverley Donald Davy, a former Coca-Cola model and winner of the 1973 Miss Rhodesia contest.[1] She has a younger brother, Shaun,[2] and grew up at her family's homestead in the Lemco Safari Area.[3][4]

Her father, Charles, was one of the largest private landowners in Zimbabwe, and was reported to own 800,000 acres (320,000 ha) of land.[5] He maintained business ties with controversial politician Webster Shamu,[6] of whom he said, "I am in partnership with a person who I personally like and get along with. I am not involved in politics in any way."[7][8] After being criticised by the press, however, Davy sold his share in the business.[9]

Education

Davy was briefly educated at Cheltenham College.[10][11] Prior to that, she attended Girls' College in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (not Cheltenham Ladies' College as has been widely reported),[12][13][4] before moving to Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.[14][15] She received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Cape Town in 2006, and a law degree (LLB) from University of Leeds in 2009.[9][16]

Career

In September 2011, Davy began work as a trainee solicitor at London law firm Allen & Overy.[17] In late 2014, however, Davy decided to quit her position at the firm.[16]

Jewellery

After studying at the Gemological Institute of America, Davy launched a jewellery brand, Aya, in July 2016.[18][19]

Travel

In 2020, in an interview with Tatler Magazine, Davy announced that Aya would be branching out into the luxury travel sector to organise African holidays.[20] She then announced the launch of Aya Africa on Instagram.[21]

Personal life

Davy married hotelier Sam Cutmore-Scott and gave birth to their son, Leo, in 2022.[22]

Relationship with Prince Harry

Davy had what the press described as a "turbulent" relationship with Prince Harry, a member of the British royal family. The pair met in early 2004 while Davy was a boarder at Stowe School, and were an on-again, off-again couple until 2009.[23] Davy announced the end of the relationship on Facebook.[17][24]

In 2011, referring to rumours of a possible reconciliation, Prince Harry publicly professed himself "100 percent single", and Chelsy, who attended the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011, stated that she would not marry Prince Harry due to the rising incompatibility of their life choices within the relationship.[25][26]

In May 2018, Davy was a guest at the wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle.[27][28]

In November 2021, private investigator Gavin Burrows claimed on a BBC documentary that Davy's communications were targeted, and her voicemails were hacked, in an attempt by media outlets to gather information on Prince Harry, an act for which he apologised.[29] Burrow's claims "are yet to be tested in court and are strongly disputed" by The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.[30] In his witness statement as part of a civil action against Associated Newspapers Ltd, the publisher of the Daily Mail, Prince Harry claimed that the news company learned information on his and Davy's whereabouts through "unlawful means", which left her feeling "hunted" and "shaken".[31] In another witness statement for his action against Mirror Group Newspapers, Harry claimed that alleged unlawful activity by journalists made Davy decide that "a royal life was not for her".[32]

References

  1. ^ Sykes, Tom (26 April 2011). "Chelsy Davy, The Hard-Partying Wedding Guest". The Daily Beast. USA. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  2. ^ "Charles Davy mutilates our story, threatens lawsuit". The Zimdiaspora. 10 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  3. ^ "5 Things You Don't Know About Chelsy Davy". US Magazine. 27 April 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011 – via MSN.
  4. ^ a b Marre, Oliver (5 July 2006). "Introducing the Ladies in Waiting". The Observer. UK. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
  5. ^ Thornycroft, Peta (7 August 2009). "Chelsy Davy denies father is linked to rhino poaching". telegraph.co.uk.
  6. ^ Thornycroft, Peta (9 May 2009). "Chelsy Davy's father receives major Dubai investment in Zimbabwe game reserve stake". telegraph.co.uk.
  7. ^ Blair, David (6 November 2005). "Zimbabwe's great white survivor". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 1 July 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  8. ^ Hunt, Peter (25 January 2011). "When Harry Met Chelsy". bbcamerica.com. BBC. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  9. ^ a b Marikar, Sheila (28 April 2011). "Royal Wedding: Chelsy Davy vs. Kate Middleton". abcnews.go.com. ABC News.
  10. ^ "How Kate and William convinced Chelsy Davy that Prince Harry wasn't 'the one'". Daily Mirror. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  11. ^ Azzopardi, Chris. "Chelsy Davy: 8 Things to Know About Prince Harry's On-and Off-Again Ex-Girlfriend". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Chelsy Davy: Biography". 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  13. ^ "Prince Harry 'considering reunion' with Chelsy Davy". The Telegraph. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  14. ^ Moody, Marcia (13 March 2014). Harry: A Biography. Michael O'Mara Books. ISBN 9781782430421.
  15. ^ "Chelsy Davy: Wild about Harry". The Independent. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Chelsy Davy – LinkedIn profile".
  17. ^ a b Nicholl, Katie (25 January 2009). "It's no life for me', says Chelsy Davy". The Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  18. ^ "Princess Eugenie and Chelsy Davy have sweet reunion at jewellery launch". hellomagazine.com. 23 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Chelsy Davy Launches Ethical New Jewellery Line Called AYA In London". International Business Times. 30 June 2016.
  20. ^ Tatler (29 February 2020). "The One that Got Away: Chelsy Davy on her Plans for the Future". Tatler. UK: Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020. Aya is branching out into the luxury travel sector, specialising in all areas of the continent. 'It's an organic progression from the jewellery. Africa is where I'm from, where my family is from; it's my heritage and I've always been interested in tourism and conservation.' The plan, she says, is to use her expertise and knowledge of Africa to organise bespoke holidays, working with a team in Cape Town. 'We want to be able to curate incredible trips for people, offering them a personalised, professional service, being there for them 24/7. I'm very knowledgeable about parts of Zambia and Cape Town. We would never send anyone anywhere that one of us hasn't been to, or to an area something more adventurous, like rafting or bungee jumping. We want to curate the trip to fit with your definition of luxury.'
  21. ^ Davy, Chelsy. ""Excited to have finally launched Aya Africa Travel"". Instagram @chelsydavy. Facebook. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  22. ^ Coke, Hope (17 March 2022). "Prince Harry's former girlfriend Chelsy Davy is spotted with her son Leo for the first time". Tatler. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Prince Harry and girlfriend split". BBC News. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  24. ^ Pierce, Andrew (25 January 2009). "Chelsy Davy announces end of relationship to Prince Harry on Facebook". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  25. ^ "Prince Harry says he's 100 per cent single". The Daily Telegraph. UK. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  26. ^ Pierce, Andrew (25 January 2007). "Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy split: Playboy prince is becoming a man". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  27. ^ "Royal Wedding 2018: Pictures of the guests, from Oprah to Elton John". BBC. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  28. ^ "All the Celebrities at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding". Elle. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  29. ^ Rajan, Amol; Lee, Joseph (22 November 2021). "Prince Harry: Private investigator apologises for targeting prince's ex-girlfriend". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  30. ^ Nolasco, Stephanie (23 November 2021). "BBC documentary on Prince Harry, Prince William's alleged rift slammed by British royal family". Fox News. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Prince Harry: Five things we learned from Duke of Sussex's High Court submission". Sky News. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  32. ^ Casciani, Dominic; Slow, Oliver (10 May 2023). "Harry blames press intrusion for Chelsy break-up". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

External links

  • Aya
  • Aya Africa
  • Chelsy Davy at IMDb