Kate Middleton Had A Complicated Relationship With Prince Harry's Ex

Kate Middleton first began dating future husband Prince William in 2002, via People, meaning that she has witnessed many of the ups and downs of the British royal family. As is the case with many families, royal or not, some of those challenges have been in the personal relationships department. Over the years, Prince William's younger brother, Prince Harry, publicly dated a number of women before he got married, via Harper's Bazaar. The so-called "spare" to the throne, he was once known for his partying more than seeking out someone with whom he might settle down, via ABC News.

Unfortunately, being poised to marry into the royal family still isn't enough to forge friendships between commoners, it seems. Before former actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry to become the Duchess of Sussex, it turns out that Kate Middleton was the one who learned that lesson the hard way — thanks to one of the women who could have become her sister-in-law.

One of Prince Harry's more prominent exes is the Zimbabwean heiress Chelsy Davy, whom he met in 2004 and who would go on to become one of his long-term girlfriends, via People. Things apparently didn't go so well between Kate Middleton and Davy, however, according to one book on Middleton from author Katie Nicholl, via Marie Claire. Nicholl was quoted by Marie Claire as writing that the relationship between the two women was "lukewarm" from the start but only got worse.

Reportedly, their worsened relationship came after Middleton once invited Davy to go on a shopping trip with her, and Davy declined her invitation, via Marie Claire. On top of this, Middleton and Davy were said to have contrasting personalities and different clothing styles, which also affected their relationship with one another, via Express. Additionally, Davy was reported to be closer with Middleton's sister, Pippa, than with her, via Express.

Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy might have had their differences as the girlfriends of two of the most eligible princes in the world, but one occasion in particular was reported to have led them to set those differences aside. When the women had to meet their boyfriends' grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for the first time at the 2008 wedding of the princes' cousin Peter Phillips, they reportedly were nervous about meeting the monarch and bonded over the experience, via Marie Claire.

A later article quoted an unnamed source who described Middleton and Davy as "thick as thieves," saying that the two were close to each other while dating the princes and spent time together at events, per New Idea. Middleton is also reported to have remained in contact with Davy following the end of her relationship with Prince Harry in 2011, possibly working with her to plan an African vacation to celebrate Prince William's birthday, via New Idea.