The Student Princess
Sun Herald
Sunday November 18, 2007
Life as a prince's girlfriend may seem like a fairytale, but the reality is far from it, writes JACQUELINE MALEY.
At worst, you could have your head on a block in the Tower of London. At best, you will live a life where you are observed constantly and criticised often. To be the consort of a British royal has never been that most British of things, a cup of tea. Last week Chelsy Davy, the blonde South African student Prince Harry has been squiring for the past three years, opted out of the business of being a royal girlfriend. The break-up came as a surprise, as the 22-year-old this year moved from Cape Town to study at Leeds University, reportedly to be closer to her prince. Different reasons were cited for the split: she hated the English weather, she wanted to focus on her studies, she was tired of Harry's wandering eye. British tabloids suggested the split was triggered by her discovery of secret text messages from another woman on his mobile phone.She apparently read the messages after overhearing Harry speaking in hushed tones on his phone last month. "It started when Chelsy overheard Harry having a whispered conversation with a girl," a friend told The Sun newspaper. "Later she stole a look at his mobile while he wasn't looking and found the text messages that really upset her. Chelsy was furious. She then confronted Harry and they had a blazing row."Whatever the reason, Davy may have dodged a bullet. With the credibility of the monarchy under threat, and a host of former colonies, notably Australia, leaning towards Republicanism, the expectations upon royal girlfriends and wives are greater than ever."If I was Chelsy I would be suicidal," says Duncan Larcombe, Royal Correspondent for The Sun, who has spent the week tailing Davy through the streets of Leeds."The contrast from horrible rainy Leeds must be enormous compared to the sunny beauty of Cape Town. She is used to having a lecture in the morning, then a cappuccino by the sea, maybe surfing in the afternoon. "In Leeds, for fun [the locals] might swill four 20 pence Tesco lagers in the back of a car park. It don't really compare."Although her opinion on the local lager is not known, it is clear from her hunched posture and hostile glare as she leaves her rented red-brick share-house, that Davy is not enjoying the press attention that comes with being a prince's newly ex-girlfriend. Larcombe says Davy has been very upset over the past week.In paparazzi photographs she looks glum, striding the dismal streets of Leeds with dark circles under her eyes.Harry's recent antics can't have helped - he missed Davy's 22nd birthday to attend the Rugby World Cup final in Paris, and was photographed at an after-party looking distinctly tired and emotional, necking vodka from the bottle. Reports suggest the text messages from another woman found on the Prince's phone were the last straw. "There are a lot of raised eyebrows about Harry's behaviour and who he is mixing with, and I know those concerns extend right up to the Queen," Larcombe says. Meanwhile, Davy is criticised by the tabloids if she looks even slightly unsteady leaving a London nightclub.Davy and Prince William's on-off girlfriend, Kate Middleton, have been given basic media training by royal advisers ("Kate is very good now at standing up straight, and smiling at the camera and behaving with dignity," Larcombe says). But neither receives any security protection.It is believed the "grey suits" of Clarence House - the official office of the Prince of Wales - think that to provide a security detail would spark engagement rumours. So the girls battle the paparazzi on their own. Like their mother, the late Princess Diana, the princes are said to have an aggressively independent attitude and will not be told how to behave by the royal advisers. But William, in particular, is very aware of the life of duty that awaits him, and part of that duty is marrying well.Historically, royal marriages were matters of political strategy, says Dr Susan Doran, a history lecturer at Oxford University and the author of Monarchy And Matrimony. But almost every royal marriage in history has brought some sort of strife, which is one of the reasons why Elizabeth I remained single her whole life. "Nowadays a royal wife must be somebody seen to be attractive in our celebrity culture," Doran says. "And who will not let down our notions of what is appropriate behaviour for a head of state."In the old days that meant marrying the virgin daughter of a noble. Prince Charles was besotted with Camilla Shand when he was in his 20s, but marrying her was out of the question. Apart from the fact that she had a sexual history, she wasn't posh enough - unlike young Diana Spencer, who was the daughter of an earl. As Patricia Mountbatten, first cousin to Prince Phillip, put it: "Nobody marries a subject."Nowadays the princes can get away with dating, and very probably marrying, commoners. Both Davy's and Middleton's fathers are businessmen. Mrs Davy is a former model and Mrs Middleton used to be an airline hostess.But William, in particular, still needs to choose a bride more solid than his famously fragile mother, and commit to being faithful to her."The choice of who he marries is the most important decision he will ever make," Larcombe says. "A bad marriage could threaten the entire future of the monarchy. The princes are lucky, they are popular. But if they treat some girl badly and have mistresses and get divorced, that popularity goes."The royal family are survivors but they know that a bad marriage would be the single biggest thing that would threaten them."Davy is said to be considering Harry's pleas to get back together, and Larcombe thinks it's only a matter of time before the two are an item again. But the survival of a monarchy is a big pressure to place on any young woman. Particularly when she lives in a share-house in Leeds.
© 2007 Sun Herald