Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have become known for breaking royal protocol, but even we didn’t see this coming… the guest list for their upcoming nuptials may just include the ghosts of girlfriends past.
The loved-up duo are expected to invite one of Harry’s exes to the ceremony — Chelsy Davy!
“Both will be going through the list carefully,” a source tells Us Weekly. “Don’t expect to see Cressida [Bonas] invited —the two didn’t remain friends— but do not be surprised if Chelsy shows up with a date.”
The insider added: “She congratulated him the minute the engagement news was announced. Meghan would have no problem with her being there and Chelsy was on the preliminary list of friends to invite.”
Harry and Chelsy dated on and off from 2004 to 2011, sparking headlines of an imminent engagement more than once.
Harry and Chelsy dated on and off from 2004 to 2011, marking the beloved royal’s longest relationship — sorry, Meghan! He even brought the bubbly blonde as his date to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011.
Speaking later about their relationship, Chelsy said: “It was so full-on: crazy, and scary, and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn’t cope. I think we will always be good friends.”
He was linked to others after that, but his next serious relationship was with actress Cressida Bonas. They dated for around two years from 2012 to 2014.
In a recent interview with the BBC’s Woman’s Hour, Cressida — a talented actress and model — spoke of her frustration at having been “pigeonholed” as ‘Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend.’
“I think it’s that thing of being pigeonholed. Especially in this country, I feel people are very quick to put you in a box or put you in a corner and think, ‘Oh, well, you’re that so you must be that,'” she explained.
“It’s incredibly frustrating, especially in the industry that I’m in. But you know, it is the way it is.”
Harry and Cressida began seeing each other in 2012 after having been introduced by Princess Eugenie.
The former couple chose to go their separate ways in 2014.
Harry, 33, and Meghan, 36, became engaged over a roast chicken dinner at their home, Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
“It happened a few weeks ago, earlier this month, here at our cottage; just a standard typical night for us. Roasting a chicken… trying to roast a chicken,” Harry said of the private moment during an interview with BBC News broadcaster Mishal Husain.
“She didn’t even let me finish, she said ‘can I say yes, can I say yes?’ and then there were hugs and I had the ring in my finger and I was like can I — can I give you the ring? She goes — oh yes the ring.”
The venue is a relatively low-key choice (by royal standards, of course!), which stands in stark contrast to the pomp and pageantry of royal weddings past — particularly that of William and Kate, who married in the grandeur of Westminster Abbey.
Nonetheless, it’s still a popular choice.
Harry’s father, the Prince of Wales, wed the Duchess of Cornwall at St. George’s in a “service of blessing” in April 2005. It was also chosen for the nuptials of Harry’s cousin, Peter Phillips, and Autumn Kelly in 2008, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex in 1999.
