Chelsy Davy vs. Kate Middleton: Comparing the Potential Princesses

April 28, 2011 — -- All eyes are on Kate Middleton as she prepares to wed Prince William, but a younger model is creeping in to take her place.

Meet Chelsy Davy. You may have heard of her before: She and Prince Harry have been dating on and off since 2005. On Friday, she'll be his date to the royal wedding, for which she'll wear not one but two Alberta Ferretti gowns.

Davy is reportedly pitching in on her boyfriend's best man tasks.

"She's been helping with Harry's best man speech because she has a better memory of their nights out with William," a source told the Daily Mail.

The wedding is a chance for her to debut Davy 2.0. While she's a lawyer by trade, with her party girl reputation, Davy, 25, sometimes seems more like the ladies of "Jersey Shore" than the always-poised Middleton.

Her favorite drinks, according to multiple reports, are vodka Red Bull and vodka lemonade. In January, The Daily Telegraph reported that photographers caught Davy "partying until 7 a.m. and smoking like a trooper."

British journalist and author Tom Skyes recently wrote that Davy's staples of bleach-blond hair, miniskirts and a perpetual tan make her look "like she's at one end or the other of a four-day bender."

"Because she looks like she's always on her way to a sorority Halloween party, people kind of don't take her seriously," Skyes told ABCNews.com.

Skyes believes that her name -- he called Chelsy the British equivalent of a "stripper name" -- makes the potential princess a hard pill to swallow.

"Chelsy was this very aspirational name that was originally meant to be all class but then got totally appropriated by the cockneys, the lower-class, the chav culture," he said. "It is almost completely impossible for the British public to imagine a princess called Chelsy. It's one of those things that shouldn't matter that really, really does matter so much."

Beyond her name and looks, Davy's relationship style sets her apart from Middleton. While the soon-to-be newlyweds kept a relatively low profile during the rocky part of their relationship, Davy and Prince Harry embrace the drama. Davy has broken up with the prince at least twice -- once, according to The Daily Telegraph, by changing her Facebook status.

In 2010, British tabloids reported that Prince Harry wanted to get Davy's name tattooed on his rear end. A few months later, they split again, and she reportedly had a fling with one of his friends, property developer Dan Philipson. Meanwhile, Prince Harry reportedly rebounded with TV host Caroline Flack.

But the princes' paramours do share common traits. Like Middleton, Davy has weathered criticism because of her background. Davy's father, Charles Davy, is a white South African businessman who made a fortune operating big-game safaris in Robert Mugabe-controlled Zimbabwe. (After being criticized by the press, Charles Davy sold his share in the business.)

She's smart. Davy has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Cape Town and studied law at England's Leeds University. She's expected to begin working for a London law firm in September.

And, like Middleton, Davy seems good for her man. The British press has credited her with taming the "party prince," who confessed to smoking marijuana in 2002 and further embarrassed the palace by wearing a Nazi uniform to a party in 2005.

Recent photos of Davy show her following Middleton's lead. On Tuesday, she was photographed shopping in London sporting a look that mimicked the future princess' laid-back, self-assured style: jeans, flats, blazer -- nary a miniskirt nor a cigarette in sight.

Skyes thinks that if Davy stays the course, she could one day find herself walking down the aisle of Westminster Abbey.

"The key for Chelsy, if she and Harry are serious, is to master a more demure, quiet style," he said. "If she can sit in the corner a bit, the British public might go for it."

"Besides," he added, "Prince Harry is pretty wild himself. He's not going to be dating a nun."