Chelsy Davy has opened up about her seven year relationship with Prince Harry. The 30-year-old dated the British royal between 2004 and 2011, and has admitted that she found the constant media attention she received during their romance "scary".
"It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable," she told The Times. "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."
Chelsy Davy has opened up about her seven year romance with Prince Harry
Both Harry and Chelsy were wary of media intrusiveness during their relationship, and when they broke up in 2010, Chelsy said she retreated to her native Zimbabwe to handle the break-up away from the spotlight.
"It was nuts," she said. "That's also why I wanted to go back to Africa. Now it's calm, it's fine."
The couple dated between 2004 and 2011
Harry and Chelsy first got to know each other during Harry's gap year in Cape Town, and Chelsy then returned to the UK to study at Leeds University and be closer to the prince. Despite working hard for her law degree, and earning a job at an esteemed solicitor's firm, she was branded a 'party girl' by the media.
"I like to enjoy life, but I like to achieve things and am very ambitious," said the pretty blonde, who recently launched her own luxury African jewellery line. "They can be forgiven for not knowing I was working really hard. I didn't shout about it.
Chelsy has said she will 'always be good friends' with Harry
"If you go out once, they take your picture, but they don't take a picture of you going to work every morning, it's of you falling out of a nightclub at 4am."
Despite splitting up from Harry six years ago, Chelsy remains part of his inner circle, and frequently attends events alongside other members of the royal family, including Princess Eugenie. She said she will always remain close to Harry. "I think we will always be good friends," she said.