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Cressida Bonas: who's the girl poised to marry Harry?
Prince is 'in a hurry' to wed 24-year-old with blonde good looks and an aristocratic bloodline
The woman who has snared this "hugely likeable young man" is his 25-year-old girlfriend, Cressida Bonas. She has "overcome her fears" about marrying into the 'Firm', the Daily Telegraph reported at the end of last year. Now, after recent public appearances together, speculation is mounting that a second royal wedding is on the cards.
But who is Bonas and why is she The One?
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How posh is she, exactly? Compared to middle-class Kate Middleton, Bonas's family tree is distinctly aristocratic. The Curzon clan of which she is a member is upper-crust – it has "direct links to Edward VII" – but bohemian too. Cressida's mother is Sixties 'It Girl' and socialite Lady Mary-Gaye Georgiana Lorna Curzon, daughter of the 6th Earl Howe. Cressida's half-brother, Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, is a "polo-playing man about town" and her half-sister Isabella recently married Sir Richard Branson's son Sam.
Didn't Prince William have a thing for Isabella? Apparently so. Harry's elder brother used to have a "massive – if unrequited – crush on Bella, as she is known to friends", says the Daily Mail. Even now, the name Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe is "capable of sending a shiver of anxiety down the spine of the Duchess of Cambridge", the paper says.
How did Harry meet Cressida? The prince was "fixed up" with Cressida by his cousin Princess Eugenie in May, 2012. Unfortunately, the first phase of their romance was interrupted by the publication of pictures showing Harry naked in a hotel room in Las Vegas. She reportedly felt "humiliated" by the incident, but they've got back on track since then.
So, what's she like? One of Cressida's friends tells E! that she's "really smart, very naturally pretty and just a really cool girl to hang out with". Harry knows he can trust her because "she is already in his circle".
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What does Cressida do for a crust? Cressida studied at Leeds University and the Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in South London. She spent a gap year in Australia working in a bar, but now describes herself as a professional model – she's posed for Burberry - and an "aspiring" actress.
Why is the press convinced she's going to marry Harry? Harry has had plenty of girlfriends, but Cressida has the 29-year-old royal "in a hurry" to wed, says the Daily Express. He recently took her to a concert by singer James Blunt one day and a performance of The Book of Mormon the next. A friend of Bonas told the paper: "Cressie is going to marry Harry. He never stops talking about marriage and children, and she has now got used to the idea. The wedding is likely to take place next year."
