There are reports today that Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy are once again on collision course for breakup.

Chelsy Davy in despondent mood

Last year’s split came as a result of Chelsy’s despair over Harry hardly ever visiting her at Leeds University, where she suffered considerable initial culture shock over the city’s cold, dark climate and generally grubby demeanour.

However, that breakup was later put down to the couple creating a cover story for Harry’s top secret mission to Afghanistan. Whatever the real reason, it’s well known there were tensions in their often sparky relationship.

Now, with Chelsy flying off to South Africa at the end of her first year of a two-year post-graduate course in law and business, the same complaint seems to be repeating itself.

With Harry on a training exercise with the Army, some believe his new passion for being around “military types” is interfering with his long-term need for Chelsy.

The couple are set to holiday together soon and friends hope they can sort out their difficulties as they have in the past. Friends of Chelsy and Kate Middleton have said that young men become “impossible” when they join the Army. The intense comradely pull to be part of the group can easily destroy other non-military relationships.

A friend of Harry is reported as snapping, “Harry is incorrigible. He is at that age when he likes drinking with his mates. Chelsy will have to resign herself to that or it will be over.”

This powerful influence on both Harry and to some extent Prince William has apparently convinced some courtiers that the Royal brothers need to be exposed to other lifestyles.

William’s new press officer is likely to be very different from the Equerry and military minder types to which they have been long exposed.

The Daily Star is picking up on one of Royal Anecdotes’ recent themes that Chelsy Davy needs close protection.

According to the Star, Harry has demanded protection from the Metropolitan Police’s elite SO14 Royal and Diplomatic Protection Department – normally reserved for Royals.

The paper comments, “The secrecy surrounding Harry’s frontline posting was so tight that Chelsy, 22 – who is studying for a postgraduate law degree – had to pretend to pals she had dumped him so they did not grill her about his whereabouts.”

We know that Chelsy has been living unguarded with fellow students in a modest terraced house in Leeds, which is fairly near to where three of the 7/7 London suicide bombers lived.

The paper quotes “a source close to the Prince” as saying, “Harry is not bothered about his own position because he can look after himself and enjoys the high standards of protection offered to senior Royal Family members. But the woman he loves is frankly nothing short of a security risk.

“Until now Chelsy has wanted to live like an ordinary student and has been able to do so. But in light of the sick threats against Harry, that situation will not be able to continue. He wants her to be offered the same level of protection as himself. Royal protocol officially forbids it, but we are looking at exceptional circumstances here.

“There have been threats of revenge – and if they can’t get to Harry, they could look at those closest to him who may be easier targets.”

It will be interesting to see if this story is picked up by others in the press. In the past, some Star stories have lacked legs. This one, though, rings true, although whether Harry himself has called for the protection is open to question.

He may, of course, have been reading Royal Anecdotes — or maybe Chelsy has.

Winter has come to Britain at last, although only in the north. Here in the south we continue to bask in warm spring sunshine.

No consolation there for sparky Chelsy Davy, whose hot South African blood must turn to ice at the thought of arctic weather in Leeds where she is studying for a Masters in Business Law.

Nothing daunted, on Monday she was seen gamely plodding her way to college through the white wintry landscape in a black outfit that set her apart from the snowy scene.

There is a lot of chatter now about how she’s helping boyfriend Prince Harry set up a 1000-mile motorbike challenge with Prince William down the length of Africa for his charity, Sentebale.

However, Harry is nowhere to be seen, and this may be a way of keeping his name in the public gaze while he performs his Army duties in the shade for a few months.

Chelsy certainly looks the part of a Nordic Ice Princess. What chance she eventually becomes a real one?

On Monday Chelsy Davy looked terrible. Her normally bright, cheery features were distinctly puffy and drooping like an old woman’s.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, she collapsed with laughter as a photographer following her fell over, injuring his knee and breaking a camera lens. But at least it brightened Chelsy’s day.

Contrary to tabloid reports, Prince Harry’s “former” girlfriend, now studying at Leeds University, has not quit college and flown home to South Africa. Wisely, she has decided to stay on to “clear her head”. She may well see things differently in a few days.

However, Prince Harry has not given up on her. A source reveals that Guy Pelly’s 19 year-old girlfriend, Susanna Warren, is trying to broker a reconciliation between them. Susanna, who has become close to Chelsy, is a student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a short trip across the Pennines from Leeds.

A friend has said, “Susanna is trying to convince Chelsy to treat her planned trip home to South Africa as a short break and time to reconsider, rather than a move back home. Harry hasn’t given up hope. He is desperately trying to get Chelsy back and fight for their relationship but he thinks another girl will be better at softening Chelsy at the moment.”

Maybe the UN Security Council should be asked to intervene. After all, relations between England and South Africa may well be in jeopardy.