Heartbreak as Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas’ sister Pandora Cooper-Key dies aged 51

Cooper-Key, who was first diagnosed with cancer 24 years ago, had been suffering from an inoperable brain tumour.

The daughter of Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon and Esmond Cooper-Key, Pandora was part of a prominent aristocratic family. Her half-sister, Cressida Bonas, is known for her modelling career and previous relationship with Prince Harry.

Cooper-Key’s battle with cancer was long and complex. She suffered from Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that drastically increases cancer risk. Her first diagnosis came at 26 when she developed Paget’s disease, a rare cancer of the milk duct, leading to a double mastectomy.

Tragedy struck again just five weeks after the birth of her son, now 34, when she was diagnosed with sarcoma of the sinus. At the time, doctors gave her a mere ten weeks to live. Faced with this dire prognosis, Cooper-Key briefly considered travelling to the Dignitas assisted dying clinic before choosing to fight on.

In a poignant reflection on her condition, Cooper-Key once mused about the cruel irony of her family’s wealth and her health struggles. “I wondered if it was because my parents were so rich,” she said in 2021. “Maybe I got the money but not the life.”

Despite her health battles, Cooper-Key had pursued a career in fashion, working under the legendary Vivienne Westwood. However, last year brought another blow with the diagnosis of a brain tumour. She underwent immunotherapy treatment, but the ordeal took a heavy toll on her mental health.

Earlier this year, she opened up about her struggles with depression: “I probably have been the closest to feeling depressed than I’ve ever been and I’m not a depressive person. That’s been quite scary. There have been days where I’ve been like ‘I can’t bear the pain’. But then there’s something in me that bounces back.”