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

Early life

Davy was born in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, to Charles Davy, a South African safari farmer, and Beverley Donald Davy, a former

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

model and winner of the 1973 Miss Rhodesia contest. She has a younger brother, Shaun, and grew up at her family's homestead in the Lemco Safari Area. Her father Charles was one of the largest private landowners in Zimbabwe, and was reported to own of land. He maintained business ties with controversial politician Webster Shamu, of whom he has 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." After being criticised by the press, however, Davy sold his share in the business.

Career

Education

Davy was briefly educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

. Prior to this she attended Girls College in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (not

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...

as has been widely reported), before moving to

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

in Buckinghamshire. She received a bachelor's degree in economics from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in 2006, and a law degree (LLB) from

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 2009. In September 2011, Davy began work as a trainee solicitor at London law firm

Allen & Overy Allen & Overy LLP (informally A&O) is an international law firm. The firm has 580 partners and over 5,600 people worldwide. In 2022 A&O reported an increase in revenue to GBP1.96 billion and is the second largest law firm headquartered in th ...

. In late 2014, however, Davy decided to quit her position at the firm.

Jewellery

After studying at the

Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and ...

, Davy launched a jewellery brand, Aya, in July 2016.

Travel

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

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Personal life

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

Relationship with Prince Harry

Davy had what the press described as a "turbulent" relationship with

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

, a member of the British royal family. The pair met in early 2004 while Davy was a boarder at

, and were in an on-again, off-again couple until May 2010. Davy announced the end of the relationship on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. In 2011, addressing rumours of a possible reconciliation, Prince Harry publicly professed himself "100 percent single", and Chelsy, who attended the wedding of

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

and

Catherine Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

on 29 April 2011, stated that she would not marry Prince Harry due to the rising incompatibility of their life choices within the relationship. In May 2018, Davy was a guest at the wedding of Prince Harry and American actress

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

. In November 2021, private investigator Gavin Burrows claimed on a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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. 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 The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

''.

References

External links

Aya

Aya Africa
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davy, Chelsy 1985 births Alumni of the University of Leeds Living people White Zimbabwean people People educated at Stowe School People from Bulawayo University of Cape Town alumni Allen & Overy people 21st-century businesswomen Zimbabwean women in business Zimbabwean women lawyers