Prince Harry — the youngest son of Prince Charles and third in the line of succession to the throne of England — has asked his girlfriend Chelsy Davy to marry him and she has agreed.
The couple declared their love for each other when they were on a recent safari break in Botswana, the Sunday Mirror reported here. However, they do not intend to become officially engaged until Chelsy finishes her studies and Harry has seen active Army service overseas.
“Harry and Chelsy are serious about each other and are both keen to make more of a commitment. Neither of them can imagine living without the other. (But) it will be 18 months down the line before they go public about their engagement,” a friend of the prince was quoted as saying.
By then 22-year-old Harry is likely to have a desk job in Britain, and his girlfriend — who is recovering well after an emergency appendix operation on Thursday — will have finished her course in politics at Leeds University.
The 21-year-old Zimbawean-born blonde has recently applied to take a post-graduate degree at the university in West Yorkshire, famous for its nightlife, so that she can be closer to her royal love. Since they met in 2004, the pair have lived on separate continents, meeting only for holidays.
It also emerged on Saturday, that Harry’s brother Prince William has whisked his girlfriend Kate Middleton off on a make-or-break holiday in Seychelles amid speculation he too may propose.
Senior royals want Harry to wait until William walks down the aisle. “Both Harry and Chelsy realise no engagement announcement is possible just yet,” says a royal source.
“His family believe at 22, Harry is too young to marry and can’t do so without his grandmother, the Queen’s permission until he is 25 years,” the source said.