King Charles' former girlfriend and 'soulmate' Davina Sheffield who had been tipped to become Queen before he married Princess Diana dies aged 75

Davina Morley, a former girlfriend of King Charles who was once tipped to become his future Queen before he married Princess Diana, has died aged 75, it was revealed today.The granddaughter of ICI tycoon Lord McGowan, she had her three sons, Tom, Billy and Henry, by her side when she passed away on September 2 following a short illness.Her family said a celebration of life service is being planned for November near her beloved home in the Cotswolds.Then Davina Sheffield, she was considered the most beautiful of Charles's so-called 'English Roses', affectionately nicknamed 'Charlie's Angels' by the press, when the then Prince of Wales began courting in the 1960s and 1970s.Charles fell for Davina during a period when he also dated Lady Jane Wellesley, Georgiana Russell, Lady Sarah Spencer, Sabrina Guinness and Anna Wallace, having set himself a deadline to marry before turning 30.Many believed marriage was on the cards after Charles and his new beau attended a wedding together and she was pictured sitting next to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at an equestrian event.The couple cut a glamorous figure at a series of social events and could barely conceal their happiness as they were seen tearing around in Charles's open-top Aston Martin DB5 Volante.One royal watcher said at the time that many believed the heir to the throne had finally found 'the soulmate he was searching for' and another said they appeared 'very much in love.'Mrs Morley, then Davina Sheffield, met Charles while he was struggling to come to terms with the heartbreak caused by the marriage of his future wife, Queen Camilla, to Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973.Yet, as with Camilla, despite being deeply in love, Davina and Charles's relationship was 'killed stone dead' when a former boyfriend revealed to the press that she had previously been in a relationship and shared his home. Prince Charles with Davina Sheffield, in around 1976, when they dated. Davina has died after a short illness aged 75After Prince Charles and Camilla broke up, he began dating Davina and they are said to have been smittenCharles was so smitten with Davina he invited her to Balmoral for the weekend. She even earned the approval of the Queen Mother. Pictured: Charles and Davina in his Aston Martin Db5 Volante 1979 Davina Sheffield, wearing a riding hat, attends the Cotswold Hunt cross country event in 1979 Davina, pictured landing at Heathrow in September 1976, had initially resisted Charles's advances She would go on to marry the love of her life Jake Morley, pictured together in 1981, the year they marriedThe now-King was said to have been devastated by the split, particularly as Davina had already won the approval of his family.Charles began dating Davina, an intelligent and witty 5ft 10in blonde with a dazzling smile, around 1976.He became so smitten that he invited her to Balmoral, where she won not only his heart but also that of his grandmother, the Queen Mother, who greatly enjoyed her company.A friend told the Daily Mail: 'She and Charles were wonderful together.'Author and royal expert Michael Rhodes has described Davina as 'exactly the sort of glamorous, blue-blooded girlfriend Prince Charles was after' at the time.He said she was 'a great match' for the future King.Davina was the granddaughter of Lord McGowan, the celebrated Scottish industrialist who served as chairman of ICI for two decades.She was a member of the Sheffield family and a cousin of Samantha Sheffield, who went on to marry former Prime Minister David Cameron.The Sheffield family bloodline can be traced back to King Charles II.But despite Charles and Davina hitting it off royally, the monarch was later left heartbroken when their romance ended abruptly.Their relationship was thrown off course when former boyfriend James Beard, a handsome powerboat racer, revealed that he had shared a 'love nest' with Davina before she started dating Charles.The disclosure brought their relationship to an abrupt end because royal convention dictated that Charles would need to marry an 'unblemished' bride.It was the same obstacle that had prevented him from marrying his future wife, Queen Camilla. In 1977, before he married Diana Spencer, Charles dated her older sister, Lady Sarah Charles and Sabrina Guinness at a polo match at Windsor Great Park during August 1979 Caroline Longman was the goddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth and daughter of the publisher Mark Longman. Charles and Caroline are seen here at Windsor Great Park in 1979 Prince Charles briefly dated Jane Ward in 1979. The two were seen together at polo partiesIn her 2005 book The Firm, royal author Penny Junor said Davina had initially turned down a dinner date with Charles because of her romance with Beard.But '[Charles] was so persistent that she eventually succumbed and the boyfriend soon fell by the wayside', she wrote.'She seemed ideal in so many ways, and they appeared to be very much in love,' Junor added.After the split, Davina found the love of her life in Jake Morley. They married in 1981, the same year Charles wed Diana, whom he had first met in 1977.They had three sons together and, like Charles and Diana, named two of them William, born in 1984, and Henry, born in 1987.Davina's eldest son, Thomas, was born in 1983. She is also survived by her two stepsons, Dominic and Sebastian, from her husband's first marriage.Jake died in April 2022 aged 80.A celebration of Davina's life will be held at her local church in Gloucestershire, around 15 miles from the King's home at Highgrove. The love story between King Charles and his wife Camilla, Queen Consort began more than five decades ago when they were both in their early 20s The King and Queen pictured together at the Braemar Gathering on September 5, in their 21st year of marriageThe love story between King Charles and Queen Camilla began more than five decades ago.The pair first met in their early 20s and soon became romantically involved.They continued dating on and off until 1973, when Charles was deployed aboard HMS Minerva as part of his Royal Navy service.While he was away, Camilla became engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles.Heartbroken, Charles is said to have begged Camilla not to marry Andrew in the week before her wedding.Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Charles and Camilla remained close friends, and he became godfather to her son, Tom.The couple moved into Clarence House together in 2003 before marrying in 2005. They celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary in April this year.