Davina Mary Morley (nee Sheffield) 1951-2026

 Davina Mary Morley, who died 2 September, 2026, aged 75, was a girlfriend of the then Prince of Wales, and, fifty years ago, was strongly tipped to be the future Queen Consort.

Davina was one of the many who formed the posse of "English roses" who were affectionately dubbed "Charlies Angels" by the Press in the 1970s, when finding a bride for Charles was an obsession.

She was born 1 March, 1951, scion of the Sheffield baronets, the younger daughter of Capt George Berkeley Sheffield (1910-1968), Grenadier Guards, and his wife the Hon Agnes Wilson McGowan (who was murdered in a robbery at her home, 11 March, 1976), daughter of the 1st Baron McGowan (1874-1961).

 Davina Sheffield, was a 5ft 10in blonde with a beautiful smile. Charles was smitten with Davina, so much so that he invited her to Balmoral Castle for the weekend. A friend told The Daily Mail at the time: 'She and Charles were wonderful together.' Davina even earned the approval of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Davina was certainly a great match for the then Prince Charles. The granddaughter of celebrated industrialist Lord McGowan, and a cousin of Samantha Sheffield - who later married the future Prime Minister David (now Lord) Cameron - she moved in the right circles and was a keen horsewoman. She was also undeniably the prettiest of ‘Charlie’s Angels’, who included Lady Jane Wellesley, Georgiana Russell, Lady Sarah Spencer, Sabrina Guinness and Anna Wallace.

However, when Davina was introduced to the future King for the first time she was already seeing someone else – Old Harrovian and powerboat racer James Beard. Detailing the Prince of Wales's romance with Davina in her 2005 book The Firm, royal expert Penny Junor said Davina initially turned down the Prince’s invite to have dinner with him because of Beard. But ‘[Charles] was so persistent that she eventually succumbed and the boyfriend soon fell by the wayside,’ she wrote.

Historians found that Davina's Sheffield's fifth great-grandfather, John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, built, in 1703, what was then Buckingham House, later the Palace, and seat of the British monarchy.

Penny Junor wrote, “In 1976, the prince fell for another girl, Davina Sheffield, who could have been the soulmate he was searching for.”

Davina Sheffield was exactly the sort of glamorous, blue-blooded girlfriend Prince Charles was after. Initially resisting his advances due to her interest in power boat racer James Beard, she finally relented due to his persistence. Their romance only ended after the press discovered (via Beard) that Sheffield wasn’t a virgin – an archaic stipulation for any future royal bride at the time.

Davina and Charles’s romance came to an unhappy end, and the Prince was devastated.

She married the same year as Charles - on  21 December, 1981, as the second wife of Jonathan Derek (Jake) Morley (1941-2022), son of Brigadier-General Michael Frederick Morley, MBE (1911-1990), and his wife Primrose Elizabeth Gordon (1912-1997), scion of that landed family of Boveridge Park, and a brother of Miranda, Duchess of Beaufort (born 1947), second wife of the 11th Duke of Beaufort (1928-2017).

Two of her sons were named William and Henry, both younger than the sons of her former love.

Davina leaves issue three sons, Thomas George Jonathan (born 1983), and poignantly - William Frederick Duncan (born 1984), and Henry Quintus (born 1987).

Her beloved husband - Jake  died 18 April, 2022, aged 80.

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