Kate Middleton coverage 'completely spooked' Prince Harry's ex: 'Can't do this'

The Duchess of Cambridge left viewers speechless with a faultless performance on the piano at a Westminster Abbey carol service which aired on TV last week. She accompanied singer Tom Walker to play his Christmas single ‘For Those Who Can’t Be Here’ in a touching moment. The Duchess has tickled the ivories since she was a child, and turned to music during lockdowns.

She seemed to channel her late mother-in-law Princess Diana, who surprised onlookers with a piano performance of her own during a tour of Australia in the late Eighties.

Kate continues to impress onlookers with her eloquent delivery of royal duties, staying ever professional while establishing caring relationships with the people she meets.

Yet, the example she set proved too much for the ex-girlfriend of her brother-in-law Prince Harry.

Royal expert Katie Nicholl discussed Harry’s relationship with dancer and actress Cressida Bonas in her 2017 book ‘Harry: Life, Loss and Love’.

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Harry first met Ms Bonas in May 2012 after being introduced by his cousin Princess Eugenie.

Her family have direct links to Edward VII and she is the granddaughter of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe. They split amicably in 2014.

Ms Nicholl claimed: “Cressida had been ‘completely spooked’ while watching TV coverage of William, Kate and George touring New Zealand and Australia that spring.”

William, Kate and nine-month-old George embarked on a nine-day tour of Australia in 2014, visiting Canberra and Adelaide on their travels.

A friend of Ms Bonas told Ms Nicholl: “She was sitting at home watching Kate on the royal tour of Australia, and it was a wake-up call.

“There was no way she wanted that sort of attention and she told Harry so.”

The friend added: “Harry didn’t want things to end.

“He was in love with her and he tried to convince her they could make it work, but Cressida’s mind was made up.

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“Harry suffered a real blow when she said, ‘I can’t do this.’ I think she really broke his heart.”

The pair split and remained good friends.

Ms Nicholl added: “Twice [Harry] had been left heartbroken because the women he had fallen in love with didn’t want to share the life he had been born into.”

Another friend told The Telegraph at the time that the split had given Ms Bonas “the opportunity to focus on her career”.

Harry had suffered similar heartache in the past, when his girlfriend Chelsy Davy pulled the plug on her relationship with him.

Harry had an on-off romance with Ms Davy for seven years, but William and Kate’s wedding ultimately proved the final straw.

Ms Nicholl wrote in her book: “Being part of the royal wedding had made Chelsy’s mind up once and for all.

“The life of a royal bride was not for her and she told Harry she could never make the sacrifices Kate had made.”

A friend of Ms Davy told Ms Nicholl: “It was just after the royal wedding when she realised she couldn’t cut it.

“She saw what it would be like in the spotlight, and she didn't want that life for herself. She truly loved Harry, but knew this wasn’t a life she could lead.”

Ultimately, things worked out in the end for Harry. His wife Meghan Markle was already used to the spotlight when they met, having starred in the hit series Suits.

Both Ms Davy and Ms Bonas attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018.

'Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss and Love' was written by Katie Nicholl and published by Hachette Books in 2019. It is available here.