RUMOURS are rife that Prince Harry is dating a Chippenham girl, after he was spotted cosying up to Laura Gerard-Leigh, 18, from Kellaways, at the Badminton Horse Trials.

The latest in a long line of possible suitors for the 18-year-old prince, Miss Gerard-Leigh is a pupil at Calne's exclusive St Mary's independent all-girls school, where she boards and is studying for A-levels.

Spotted at the Badminton Horse Trials last week, the pair seemed relaxed and comfortable together.

The pair are believed to have started dating a month ago and the prince has been a visitor to St Mary's School on various occasions during that time.

The pair have even enjoyed dates in Calne, where they drank pints of lager in a local pub.

One pub regular said: "You wouldn't necessarily have known he was together with the girl, but I heard a rumour that he had come especially to see her. He was with her, two male friends and 15 to 20 other girls and was wearing a baseball cap, but he was dressed very casually."

Miss Gerard-Leigh is also rumoured to visit the prince regularly in Eton, where he attends school.

One of three daughters of John Gerard-Leigh, 54, an eminent stockbroker who once held six directorships of leading investment firms, Laura could be seen as an ideal match for the prince.

She has two sisters and is a member of the so-called Glossy Posse, a group of wealthy youngsters based in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Her family split their time between an old converted mill house in Kellaways, outside Chippenham, and a home in Parsons Green, West London, where she is a regular on the trendy club scene.

But Miss Gerard-Leigh's mother denied the prince and her daughter were anything more than good friends. "There's absolutely nothing going on between them," she said.

"She is having a good laugh about this and I'm sure it will blow over very quickly."

This is not the first time the prince has been romantically linked to a Wiltshire belle.

A year ago he was caught on camera with agricultural student Niki Sturgis, 21, at the King Constantine polo match in Cirencester.

The two were photographed sharing a laugh as he bought a burger from a food van.

But like Mrs Gerard Leigh, Niki's father, Conservative district and county councillor Toby Sturgis, of Brook Farm, Great Somerford, insisted they were just good friends.

At the time he said: "I have never seen so much fuss about a group of friends enjoying a day at the match."