Cressida Bonas has opened up about the enduring influence of her late sister, Pandora Cooper-Key, describing her sense of humour as 'infectious' and expressing a desire for her own children to inherit that same zest for life.
A Sister's Legacy
The 37-year-old actress, who previously dated Prince Harry, lost her sister Pandora in July 2024 at the age of 51 after a long battle with cancer. Pandora, a ceramicist and former accessories designer for Vivienne Westwood, suffered from Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic condition that impairs the body's ability to fight cancer. She was first diagnosed just five weeks after giving birth to her eldest son, Bow, now 18.
Despite her prolonged illness, Pandora maintained a joyful outlook. 'She found joy in the smallest things and was always grateful,' Cressida told The Times. 'Pandora believed in going after what you want rather than waiting for it to fall into your lap. She used to say, 'What's the worst that can happen?' Her sense of humour was infectious, and she could talk to anyone.'
Cressida added, 'Even now I sometimes hear her in my ear pushing me on, reminding me to just get out there and live life fully. I'd like to pass that on to my children.'
Family Life and Tribute
Cressida married property investor Harry Wentworth-Stanley in 2020, and the couple have two children: son Wilbur, three, and daughter Delphina, 11 months. The bond between the sisters was so strong that Cressida gave her daughter the middle name 'Pandora' as a tribute. 'My heart is forever tied to yours,' Cressida declared at Pandora's memorial service in 2024, held at St Luke's church in Chelsea, west London. The service was attended by Pandora's friends, including Queen Camilla's son, Tom Parker Bowles, and her nephew Sir Ben Elliot.
Cressida read a moving 'letter to Pandora' that she composed after her death. Their mother, Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, paid tribute, saying, 'Nobody on earth who ever met Pandora could help falling in love with her.' Pandora's father, Esmond Cooper-Key, died in 1985 aged 42.
One of Pandora's friends, Serena Cook, amused the congregation with tales from their travels through Latin America: 'We stole watermelons from a field in Nicaragua, scrambling up a tree in absolute hysterics. We got chased by a furious farmer.'
Motherhood Journey
Cressida has also spoken candidly about her own experiences with motherhood. In a conversation with The Telegraph, she admitted that being a mother 'is unpredictable and frightening' and said she has 'elements of her childhood she would like to leave in the past'. She revealed that she and her husband struggled to conceive, and their son Wilbur was conceived through IVF. 'Fortunately, after the successful transfer of another of our embryos, I am pregnant with our second child,' she wrote in The Spectator magazine in January last year.
Cressida described the challenges of pregnancy: 'I've been battling morning sickness. I've never had it before, and now feel like I've been swaying on a boat for months.' She gave birth to Delphina in June 2024, honouring her sister with the middle name Pandora. 'They have named their daughter Delphina Pandora Wentworth-Stanley,' a friend told the Daily Mail's Diary Editor Richard Eden at the time. 'It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.'
