The sister of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas has died.
She was 51 years old.
Pandora Cooper-Key had been fighting cancer for 24 years before she was told she had a brain tumor that could not be removed.
Mrs. Esmond Cooper-Key and Lady Mary Gaye Curzon had a daughter named Cooper-Key.
She had ten siblings and was half-sister to actress and model Bonas.
The daughter of Sarah Ferguson, Princess Eugenie, set up the meeting between Cressida and Prince Harry in May 2012.
Before they broke up in April 2014, they had a rough patch after Harry was famously caught naked in Las Vegas.
After that, Cressida and his other ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy went to the wedding of Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018.
Cooper-Key, a ceramicist who used to work for Vivienne Westwood as an accessories designer, said that her family had planned her funeral “thousands of times.”
The mother of two was told at the end of last year that she had a tumor on the left side of her brain that could not be removed.
She had been getting immunotherapy in the hopes of getting better.
Pandora first learned she had Paget’s Disease, a rare cancer of the milk duct, when she was 26 years old and lived in west London.
After about 10 years, she had her first child. She was able to beat the disease.
It was terrible to hear that doctors had found a sarcoma in her left eye, just a few weeks after giving birth.
Sarcomas are very rare tumors; only a few thousand are found each year in the UK. They are very aggressive.
After having surgery to remove her tear duct, Cooper-Key was told she had 10 months to live. She fought for years, though.
Before another one was found behind her nose, one was found in her cheek and successfully removed.
In addition, she had terrible seizures that would sometimes knock her out for days.
Cooper-Key had eight surgeries to remove tumors and then cosmetic work done on her face. She was left with no muscles in half of her face and had to use Botox to make the other half paralyzed.
She told The Times in 2021, “I’m the only girl in town who gets it free.”
It got worse at the end of last year when doctors found a tumor on her brain that they couldn’t remove.
A few months ago, she told Femail, “In order to operate, they would have to go through blood vessels, which is not good.”
“So they categorically said in the first meeting, ‘I’m really sorry, but we can’t’.”
Cooper-Key’s death notice said: “Beloved daughter of the late Edmond Cooper-Key, and Lady Mary Gaye Curzon, adored mother of Bow and Nestor, so much-loved sister of her two brothers and eight sisters and devoted aunt to her nieces and nephews.”
The director of communications at Sarcoma UK, Kerry Reeves-Kneip, praised Cooper-Key’s work to raise awareness about the condition.
She said, “Being honest about her journey helped bring important attention to sarcoma and the problems patients face.”
Pandora’s legacy goes far beyond her efforts to raise money; her kindness and strength touched many people’s lives.
I’d like to send our deepest condolences to Pandora’s family, which includes her mother, Lady Mary, her sister, Cressida Bonas, her two sons, and everyone who loved her.
Our organization and other people who have been affected by sarcoma are very thankful for the difference Pandora made.
“Sarcoma UK will honor her by continuing our mission with even more drive.”
“Pandora’s kindness, courage, and indomitable spirit will forever remain in our hearts.”