Princess Catherine doesn’t have the best track record with Prince Harry’s exes. Although it seems like a lifetime ago, Harry and Catherine, along with Prince William, were a close-knit trio. Unfortunately, Harry’s relationship with his wife, Meghan Markle, served as a turning point for these long-standing relationships and possibly contributed to driving a wedge between the former trio. Between Harry and Meghan’s accusations of racial mistreatment to the royal family’s denial of their concerns, the three amigos haven’t been what they once were for years. Unsurprisingly, Catherine didn’t exactly hit it off with Meghan on a one-on-one basis, either.
In the highly controversial book “Endgame,” author Omid Scobie writes, “For Meghan, who found much of her time as a working royal a lonely and isolated experience, there was a hope that Kate would be someone she could at least turn to for an encouraging word during her lowest points. … Kate, however, was uninterested in forming this kind of bond with Meghan.”
Ironically, Catherine shared a pretty similar experience with Prince Harry’s longtime ex-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. Davy’s relationship with Harry overlapped Catherine’s courtship with Prince William, but if you thought that meant the two women became automatic besties, you’d be wrong. According to Katie Nicholl, author of “Kate: The Future Queen,” Davy gave Catherine the cold shoulder. “Kate had made an effort to befriend Chelsy, inviting her clothes shopping, but Chelsy had turned the offer down, leading to a coolness between them,” Nicholl writes. But for the sake of keeping the peace among her husband and his brother, perhaps Catherine should have worked harder on building relationships with the women in Harry’s life. “It’s important for partners to nurture harmony not just with each other, but within their broader circle of relationships,” marriage counselor Stephanie Wijkstrom, MS, LPC, NBCC, tells Nicki Swift.
Are Chelsy Davy and Kate Middleton in a better place now?
While Chelsea Davy and Princess Catherine’s relationship was complicated, a little understanding could have gone a long way. There was also no need for them to become best friends; it’s possible to be civil with someone in your social circle, even if you don’t have much in common. “Practice acceptance! … The absence of a positive relationship doesn’t need to be a negative one,” says Stephanie Wijkstrom. “Diplomatic neutrality can become the next emotional and behavioral goal.” She also warns, “Tension in outside relationships can strain your romantic relationship.” To prevent this from happening, Catherine should have considered how icing Davy out would affect Prince William, who is likely who Harry would have gone to first if Davy had complained about Catherine’s attitude toward her. “Ask yourself: Is some interaction needed? … Does limiting contact with this person add strain to your relationship?” is Wijkstrom’s advice for someone in Catherine’s shoes.
Fortunately, Catherine and Davy eventually found their way to each other over their anxiety about meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II. “On this occasion, however, they bonded, because they were both nervous about meeting the Queen,” Katie Nicholl writes about the 2008 encounter. “Although she was a regular guest at the royal palaces and had been to Sandringham for the Boxing Day shoot, this was, rather surprisingly, the first time Kate would be formally introduced to the Queen. Understandably, without William by her side, she was shy.”
And though Davy hasn’t been on the inner tiers of the royal family in years, that didn’t stop a gorgeous (and rather pricy) necklace she designed from gracing the neck of Catherine’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, in 2024, per GB News. So, there’s obviously some relationship between her and Catherine to this day.
