If she's heartbroken by her break-up with Prince Harry, Chelsy Davy is certainly doing her best not to show it.
She spent Friday night at her favourite London haunt, Boujis – giggling with female companions, flirting with male ones and knocking back vodka and cranberry juice while others drank champagne.
She danced on tables and sofas but as midnight came and went, she shouted above the noise: ‘I miss home so much. I just wanna go home!’
Elegant: Chelsy Davy emerges from Boujis in a chic minidress and blazer
Chelsy had arrived at the club just before 11pm with a dozen or so friends, who began their night in the club’s VIP area.
But she soon abandoned it to join the throng on the main dancefloor.
A friend told The Mail on Sunday: ‘She was telling everyone that she’s really homesick. A couple of guys approached her and kissed her hand. She was sweet and polite but totally uninterested.
She was flirting with a couple of friends but she didn’t kiss anyone.
Back on the scene: Chelsy enjoyed a night on the town with friends
‘She was surrounded by such a big group that they almost took over most of the club and dancefloor, everyone was dancing like mad. It all got really hectic at one point.’
One girl who had been partying in Chelsy’s VIP area was escorted out by bouncers who considered her too intoxicated to be in the club.
Meanwhile, according to one witness, Zimbabwe-born Chelsy made so many trips to the toilet that she befriended the attendant, a Nigerian who has been living in Britain for the past eight years.
The source said: ‘She kept saying, “How could you leave home for so long? I can’t believe you left amazing Africa. It’s so bloody cold here and I just miss home so much – I can’t wait to get back.”’
Worse for wear: Chelsy leaves the club with glassy eyes and bedraggled hair after her lively Friday night out in London
Another source noted: ‘Her friends were on a mission to rally round her and keep Chelsy loving London by showing her a good time in a big way.
‘It’s not in their interest to lose Chelsy from the party circuit. Some of them revel in their status as the A-team around her.
‘She was the centre of attention and was fairly flirty with a couple of the boys, laughing with them and ruffling one boy’s hair.’
Among the dashing young men trying to hold Chelsy’s attention was Eduardo Wansbrough, a graduate of Newcastle University who splits his time between a family home in Chelsea and Spain, where he is studying for further qualifications.
But Chelsy’s friends’ efforts were not entirely successful. ‘She had seemed to be having fun but suddenly got disheartened and left at about 1.30am when the party was still going strong,’ one friend said.
It has been a week since Chelsy revealed her five-year relationship with Prince Harry was over by changing her relationship status on networking site Facebook to read: ‘Not in one’. It was said she could no longer cope with the pressures of his gruelling training with the Army Air Corps.
Thousands of miles from her family in South Africa, and with the prospect of final exams at Leeds University ahead, few would blame her if she did pack up her bags and head home.
But those close to her say the relationship is not beyond repair, with Harry and Chelsy remaining in regular phone contact, with tearful exchanges and heartfelt declarations.
Both have told friends they remain in love with each other.
According to one source: ‘She has been in touch with Harry and we suspect it might not be over for good. They have split before and got back together.
Party boy: Chelsy's friend Eduardo Wansborough emerges from Boujis in the early hours
‘Chelsy has found the past week ghastly. She’s put the smiles on for the cameras but she’s been suffering. They both have.’
Another source admitted: ‘There are many in Clarence House who don’t consider this split final. Nobody would be surprised if they got back together once she has done her finals and he’s broken the back of his training.’
For however homesick Chelsy declared herself, she has yet to abandon plans for a life in Britain, where she has left her options open.
The 23-year-old law student has told pals she plans to return to South Africa for a few months after her graduation in June. But her father, Charles, is understood to be searching for a three-bedroom apartment for her in London, ideally in a gated development in Chelsea. After all, she has accepted a training contract with City legal firm Allen & Overy, which is due to start in September.
One source said: ‘Chelsy is a global girl and she’s clever. She’s more than capable of carving out a life for herself in London. It’s a side Harry has always found attractive, that gutsy edge. She’s a sharp cookie.
‘Chelsy knows the offer of a job with Allen & Overy is too good to turn down, but of course she’s torn.’
It was widely reported that the break-up came because of the conflicting pressures of her studies and his Army career. But the reality is not so straightforward.
Some friends have suggested that Chelsy’s decision was influenced by her father. As one of the biggest landowners in Zimbabwe, and a man with notorious links to Robert Mugabe, it has been claimed that Mr Davy was anxious to disassociate his family from any allegations of racism after Harry was filmed referring to an Asian soldier as ‘our little Paki friend’.
One source said: ‘Charles could not be seen to tolerate his daughter dating someone who was considered racist, even if he is a member of the Royal family. He has worked very hard to build relations with prominent figures for many years.’
In the past, Harry’s flamboyant socialising has also caused tensions. In 2005, Clarence House denied allegations that Harry had a fling with 17-year-old Alexia Bergstrom.
The following year he incensed Chelsy by cavorting at a lapdancing club while training at Sandhurst, and in April 2007, photographs of Harry groping sports presenter Natalie Pinkham caused another rift. But the photos were taken before Harry and Chelsy had met and, by the summer, the couple were reunited.
There are many now hoping that this split, too, will prove a mere hiccup – including the family of Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton.
According to one friend: ‘They’re viewing Harry and Chelsy’s break-up as very bad news for Kate.
‘It has been noticed that William has a lot of training ahead of him and they’re anxious that Chelsy and Harry patch it up before William starts looking at his single brother and wondering about the state of his own affairs.’
Before the break-up: Chelsy and Harry look very much in love at a pop concert in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales
Kate, 27, has already offered her support to Chelsy. After all, she has been there before. Within days of her and William’s temporary split in 2007 reports leaked out that some among William’s circle considered Kate ‘too middle class’.
Similarly, one Palace source noted: ‘It’s remarkable how rapidly some courtiers have let it slip that they never really viewed Chelsy as “Princess material” – that her skirts were too short, she liked her vodka too much, that sort of thing.’
One friend admitted: ‘Chelsy has sometimes felt that she’s not been as welcomed by the Royal Family as Kate, though Charles has always been very fond of her.’
After their split, Kate made a point of partying at William’s favourite clubs. But, until Friday at least, Chelsy had instead kept a low profile.
Among those partying with Chelsy at Boujis was her best friend ‘Bubbles’ – described by some as a self-appointed personal assistant and bodyguard – who was blocking any unwanted attention.
A friend explained: ‘Chelsy hasn’t enjoyed the spotlight and has been keeping a low profile in Leeds. She has been staying in to avoid getting snapped. She’s popped into a few friends’ houses for tea and likes to go to the Clock Cafe at the end of the road where she can enjoy a quiet drink without being noticed.’
She is understood to be close to her flatmates and to have struck up a friendship with history of art students David Hudson and Henry Symonds, both 22.
Chelsy and Harry have both decided that they need to focus upon their careers
According to one pal: ‘If Chelsy wanted to make Harry jealous she wouldn’t have to try very hard. She’s very popular with the boys
‘Chelsy met David at a festival in the summer and they have become close. They are on the same dinner-party circuit. Henry is also a good chum and more dashing than David. But there’s no one else in her life and she’s been on the phone to Harry and in touch with their mutual friends to find out what he’s been up to.’
Harry has been equally subdued, quietly getting on with his training at Middle Wallop, Hampshire. Unable to drink during the week because of his flying practice, he missed his best friend Guy Pelly’s 27th birthday party in London last Thursday.
But, one suspects, Harry would have struggled to muster much party spirit. His older brother once complained that the problem with his relationship with Kate was that all the fun had gone out of their lives.
For Harry and for Chelsy – however energetic her dancing on Friday night – the opposite looks to be true. As Harry professes himself ‘gutted’ and Chelsy wrestles with heartache and homesickness, it seems that without each other, all the life has gone out of their fun.
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