I wonder if the following story has any truth to it. We may see a royal wedding very soon:
Harry 'wants to wed Chelsy'
by BARBARA JONES and MATT NIXSON, Mail on Sunday 08:46am 12th December 2004
Prince Harry and his South African girlfriend Chelsy Davy are discussing marriage, a close relative told The Mail on Sunday last night.
Paul Davy, Chelsy's uncle, revealed that the couple's feelings for each other had deepened and they were now inseparably in love.
"Yes, they want to marry," he declared. Mr Davy added that Harry will meet Chelsy's parents - Charles and Beverly Davy - on a family holiday on an exotic island off Mozambique. The aim was for him to get to know his prospective parents-in-law.
"Probably the meetings with Charles and Beverly would formalise their relationship and aid the process," the uncle said - making clear that "the process" could lead to marriage.
'Threatening to spiral out of control'
The family's claims will cause consternation in Royal circles. Officials have adopted a vow of silence on the subject of Royal romances. But Charles is likely to view the public comments of a member of the Davy family with concern.
There is already worry that 20-year-old Prince Harry is threatening to spiral out of control.
Like many parents before him, Prince Charles may now face having to dissuade a headstrong offspring from plunging into a life-altering decision that could end in disaster. Charles's reactions will be further complicated by his guilt at the death of Diana and the traumatic effect it had on Harry. It was a factor in the young Prince's determination to lead his own life and this has led him into a string of escapades involving drugs, drunkenness and a violent attack on a Press photographer.
This apart, there is the immediate question of the suitability of 19-year-old Chelsy as a Royal bride.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that Mr Davy's company, HHK Safaris, runs lucrative hunting trips for British, American and Germans willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to shoot big game, including lions, leopards and even giraffes.
Wealthy Mr Davy - one of Zimbabwe's biggest ranch owners - is thought to control one per cent of all the country's agricultural land at a time when hundreds of other white farmers have been evicted and forced out by the Mugabe regime.
Romantic holiday
Mr Davy's relationship with the Zimbabwe dictator is sure to attract close scrutiny.
Marriage would also raise the prospect of the Prince spending large amounts of time in Africa.
In the short term, Royal observers will be watching to see whether Harry's devotion to Chelsy will deflect him from entering Sandhurst, as arranged, next year.
The Prince has already postponed his arrival at the elite academy, citing a knee injury.
The couple, who have been dating for eight months, are enjoying a romantic holiday together on the remote tropical island of Bazaruto.
Mr Davy hastened to add that an engagement was not imminent, saying: "I wouldn't say that's the purpose they are in Mozambique. They are on holiday there."
However, he admitted that Zimbabwean-born Chelsy's relationship with the 20-year-old Prince had sparked excitement within the family.
"It has caused a lot of publicity. Chelsy's father Charles has been observing this with much interest," he said.
Harry's relationship with Chelsy - which blossomed after they met when she was a pupil at Cheltenham Ladies' College, near Prince Charles's Highgrove Estate - was exclusively revealed by The Mail on Sunday two weeks ago.
Links to Mugabe
Last week, the couple, who have tried to keep the passionate romance secret, were pictured sharing a lingering kiss after rendezvousing at a £300,000 holiday home owned by Chelsy's parents at the smart South African resort of Umhlanga Rock, east of Durban.
Lying back on a sunbed, Chelsy reached up to put her arms round Harry before tenderly cupping his face in her hands in plain view of those living in nearby apartments.
According to Chelsy's uncle, Harry is now visiting Mozambique as a guest of HHK Safaris, which is part-owned by Webster Shamu, President Mugabe's Minister of Policy Implementation.
Mr Shamu is accused by the Zimbabwe opposition MDC party of being involved in some of the bloodiest violence of the 2001 Presidential elections.
Mr Davy has benefited from extensive links to the Mugabe regime - and has even recruited one of the dictator's most notorious lieutenants to his safari company.
The Zimbabwean government has proved itself adept at embarrassing the British establishment: Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was internationally castigated after shaking Mugabe's hand, and the English cricket team's tour of the central African country became a political running sore.
Private resort
Prince Charles's officials will be on guard against any attempts by Mugabe to turn the Harry romance to his advantage. Courtiers will be similarly wary if the Davy family begins talking up the relationship - including talk of marriage - particularly if, in doing so, it curries yet more favour with the Mugabe regime.
The suggestion that Harry is in any way benefiting from the hospitality of members of the regime will alarm Prince Charles' advisers.
Paul Davy said: "Harry and Chelsy are obviously being hosted by HHK Safaris it is a travel and tourism agency."
But he said that his brother's firm was not footing the entire bill, adding: "I don't think Charles is paying for the other expenses. They can meet their own expenses."
Chelsy's brother, Shaun, was also holidaying with the family on Bazaruto, where guests stay in thatched chalets around a sandy bay on the Indian Ocean. The resort is popular for diving and snorkelling among rich tourists and famed for its privacy. The Mozambique authorities - who are allies of the Mugabe regime - have gone to enormous lengths to prevent journalists getting access to the Prince. Several have had equipment confiscated while others have been asked to leave Harry's hotel.
