Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas are officially an item.

He’s complained before about the difficulty of finding the right woman to take on the role of being his partner, but it appears Prince Harry has finally found love.

For, astonishingly, the third in line to the throne kissed and hugged his blonde society girlfriend, model Cressida Bonas, in full view of fellow skiers and photographers on the slopes at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier yesterday. The pictures are all over the UK press today.

The PDA between Harry, 28, and Cressida, 24, came after the two spent an evening kissing and cuddling at a birthday dinner for 20 hosted by Prince Andrew at a local restaurant. During the dinner, according to a witness quoted in the Daily Mail, Cressida sat on Harry’s knee as they kissed.

The pair openly kissed and cuddled to the astonishment of other diners at the party which was held to celebrate Prince Andrew’s 53rd birthday on Tuesday. The party also included Fergie and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

The decision by the two to effectively make public the depth of their affection is a sign that the relationship is moving on to a more serious footing. The two have been dating since last May, and have until now managed to avoid the cameras together, arriving and leaving separately at parties and nightclubs.

Cressida’s half-sister, actress Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, will marry Sir Richard Branson’s son Sam in South Africa next week and inevitably there will be speculation that Harry and Cressida will now tie the knot.

Harry may well attend the Branson wedding as he is due to visit nearby Lesotho next week on behalf of his African kids charity Sentebale.