Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend, has been forced to shut down her luxury travel company after struggling with financial troubles for years. The Zimbabwean-born entrepreneur officially filed paperwork on Monday to dissolve Aya Luxury Travel, which she launched in 2020 to offer high-end, tailor-made African getaways.
The company has been in financial distress for some time, closing out 2023 with nearly $28,000 in unpaid debt after a tough few years. Documents filed at Companies House show that Davy is now applying to have the company struck off the register, meaning any remaining assets could be handed over to the Crown unless someone objects.
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Davy, who dated Prince Harry from 2004 to 2009, had big dreams for Aya Luxury Travel when she first launched it. She envisioned a premium travel brand that would showcase Africa’s beauty and work with top-tier companies to create unforgettable experiences. Partnering with seasoned safari expert Brigitte Walsh, she hoped to use her deep knowledge of Zambia and Cape Town to build something special.
But the timing couldn’t have been worse. Just months after launching, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the travel industry in ruins. By the end of 2020, Aya Luxury Travel was already in $115,000 of debt, and despite Davy’s hopes that business would pick up, the ongoing pandemic made it nearly impossible for the company to recover.
In an interview back in 2020, Davy was candid about the challenges, admitting, “I’m not going to lie, [it] hasn’t gone swimmingly so far.” She remained optimistic that things would turn around, but with further lockdowns in 2021, the company never quite found its footing.
The business has reportedly not made any sales or bookings in the past three months, making its closure almost inevitable. However, Davy is still running her jewelry brand, Aya, which she founded in 2016 after studying at the Gemological Institute of America.
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Away from business, Davy’s personal life has been thriving. She married hotelier Sam Cutmore-Scott in 2022, and the couple now have two children—a three-year-old son, Leo, and a daughter, Chloe, who was born last year. Interestingly, her husband attended Eton College and was just a year above Prince Harry.
Though she has long since moved on from her royal romance, Davy has remained friendly with the royal family, attending both Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011 and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018.
GB News has reached out to Davy for a comment on the closure, but for now, it looks like she’s shifting her focus entirely to her jewelry empire.
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