Kate Middleton Tried to Be Friends With Prince Harry's Ex, Chelsy Davy—But Chelsy Wasn't Interested

• Long before there was speculation about Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's friendship, Kate reportedly tried to bond with another of Prince Harry's longtime girlfriends: Chelsy Davy.
• In her book Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl explains that Kate tried to form a friendship with Chelsy by inviting her out shopping, but that Chelsy turned down Kate's invitation. This, apparently, led to a "coolness" between them.
• Kate and Chelsy did eventually bond in 2008 when they both met the Queen for the first time at Peter Phillip and Autumn Kelly's wedding and bonded over their shared nervousness.

Long before the British press was busy speculating about the state of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's friendship, Kate tried (and failed) to bond with another of Prince Harry's longtime girlfriends: Chelsy Davy.

Harry and Chelsy dated on and off from 2004 until 2010 and ultimately split because Chelsy realized that royal life just wasn't for her. Before their split, however, Kate, who was dating Harry's older brother, Prince William, during this time, apparently tried to strike up a friendship with Chelsy—but it didn't go great.

In her book Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl describes the state of Kate and Chelsy's friendship in 2008, when they were both guests at Peter Phillip and Autumn Kelly's wedding at St. George's Chapel in Windsor (where Harry would eventually tie the knot himself with Meghan Markle). Nicholl writes:

"Harry and Chelsy, who were back together after a romantic reunion in Botswana, had been invited, and Kate was grateful, for she didn't know many of the guests. Her friendship with Chelsy was lukewarm; they were completely different characters and the bubbly Zimbabwean got along better with Pippa. 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."

Apparently everything changed at Peter and Autumn's wedding however, because Kate and Chelsy finally had something in common to bond over: Their shared nervousness about meeting the Queen for the first time. Kate's nerves were amplified because she was attending the wedding alone, on Will's behalf, since he had other commitments and couldn't attend.

"On this occasion, however, they bonded, because they were both nervous about meeting the Queen," Nicholl writes. "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 later recalled, 'It was amongst a lot of other guests and she was very friendly.'"

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

subscribe here