Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas part ways after two year relationship

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/30/prince-harry-and-cressida-bonas-split

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Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas have split up following a two year relationship which had been the focus of increasing speculation recently that the fourth in line to the throne would soon be getting engaged.

The pair were said to have ended their relationship amicably which suggested that one of the reasons for the split was so that the 25-year-old performing arts graduate could concentrate on her career.

"It's very, very sad that they have decided to split. It's very amicable but they have decided to go their separate ways," said an unnamed source.

Speculation that the couple might be on the verge of getting married had been growing in March after Bonas joined the Prince at one of his official engagements for the first time.

They sat together and embraced in the stands at Wembley Arena at a We Day UK charity event.

Kensington Palace declined to comment.

Bonas completed a one year contemporary dance course at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in Greenwich, London, last year.

The pair, who headed off on a skiing trip together to Kazakhstan in March, are said to have been introduced by the Prince's cousin and Bonas' friend Princess Eugenie - although they have moved in the same upper class circles for a number of years.

They began dating around May 2012 - reportedly getting together at The Valley festival on a friend's Hampshire estate - and holidayed on Sir Richard Branson's Caribbean Necker island for Sam Branson's birthday in the summer of that year.

The Prince headed to Afghanistan for a tour of duty and the pair were reunited on his return, setting off for a ski break with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, Sarah, Duchess of York, and the Duke of York. The Prince and Bonas were spotted hugging on the slopes.

A summer of festivals and gigs in 2013 saw the pair spending more and more time together, including a weekend at the Queen's private Sandringham retreat in Norfolk. Rumours of an engagement started to surface just 18 months after they began dating.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge split briefly and amicably during their long term relationship, four years before they married, which is likely to prompt speculation that Prince Harry and Bonas' decision to separate may eventually be temporary. His most serious previous girlfriend was Chelsy Davy, with whom he had a long-distance relationship while training in the Army and overseas, and while Davy was at university in South Africa.