Latest news with #CressidaBonas
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Prince Harry turned to MI6 therapists to help with his mental health, royal insider claims
Prince Harry 's former therapist worked with MI6, a royal insider has claimed. Writing in her best-selling book The Palace Papers, royal biographer Tina Brown claims the Duke of Sussex's then-girlfriend Cressida Bonas encouraged him to visit a mental health professional after she witnessed Harry's 'explosive temperament'. Brown wrote: 'Cressida began to have serious worries about his mental health. It is not widely known that it was she who first persuaded Harry to see a therapist.' A family friend told Brown that Cressida forced the Duke to 'accept he has problems and see a psychoanalyst'. Harry then turned to Julia Samuel for support - a therapist who was Princess Diana 's friend and worked as an NHS bereavement counsellor. But the reason Julia was so helpful to Harry was her connection to MI6, where she advised secret service staff - meaning she was capable of being 'discreet'. Brown claims a person close to Harry said: 'There was a need for someone who could be incredibly discreet and who understood what it's like to have a public version of your life and a private version. 'Therapists at MI6, that's what they do.' It was through therapy that Harry finally unpicked the trauma caused by Princess Diana's death, which happened when the Duke was just 12 years old. 'He at last understood his own evasion of sorrow in tactics that ranged from champagne hooliganism to "sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help?",' Brown wrote. Cressida encouraged Harry to seek help after seeing this behaviour on several occasions, documented by Brown. This included a pub lunch on New Year's Day in Kidlington near Oxford, when Harry lashed out an elderly man who asked the Duke for a picture. Brown was told by someone 'privy to the incident' that Harry told the gentleman to 'get out of my why' before he went 'bright red in the face and stormed off in a huff'. Prince Harry's wife, the Duchess of Sussex, has also been candid about her mental health battles. During a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan revealed the stress of royal life made her suicidal when she was five-months pregnant. The Duchess of Sussex revealed she 'couldn't be left alone' and told her husband she 'didn't want to be alive anymore' before claiming Buckingham Palace staff ignored her plea for help because she wasn't a 'paid employee'. Describing how she considered ending her life, believing it 'was better for everyone', Meghan said: 'I knew that if I didn't say it, that I would do it. I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear, real and frightening constant thought. 'I remember how he just cradled me. I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that "I've never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere". And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution.' She said that, after confiding in her husband, she was forced to go to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event in January 2019 - claiming photos from that night 'haunt' her. Harry and Cressida dated for two years before they split in 2014. Brown claims the model's 'serious qualms about sharing her life with Harry' and his 'frequent' and 'childlike' outbursts contributed the break down in the relationship. She was his last serious relationship before Meghan and Cressida was an almighty hit with the entire Royal Family. Charles even labelled her as the 'one that got away', a source told Brown. Cressida is the daughter of Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon – who once famously posed apparently topless, smeared in motor oil – and Old Harrovian Jeffrey Bonas (her mother's third husband) who owns a fabric company called MacCulloch & Wallis. Harry and Cressida dated for two years before they split in 2014. Brown claims that the model's 'serious qualms about sharing her life with Harry' and his 'frequent' and 'childlike' outbursts contributed to the break down in the relationship She was also athletic, winning a sports scholarship to Prior Park College in Bath before attending the co-ed boarding school Stowe. After school she studied dance at Leeds University and later pursued acting as well as modelling for Mulberry. Throughout her relationship with Harry, the couple went on trips to Switzerland, attended concerts and were even spotted on date nights at restaurants. Brown wrote she was Harry's guest at Sandringham for shooting weekends and blended easily with his friends. Cressida also passed the Africa test on a successful holiday with the prince in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Today, the Hampshire-born 'It-Girl', who is expecting her second baby with husband Harry Wentworth-Stanley, 35, has moved into writing and podcasting - with her social media feed turning from artsy selfies to wholesome snaps with her two-year-old son. She launched her podcast Lessons From Our Mothers, hosted with her half-sister, Isabella Branson, earlier this year. The podcast is billed as a 'conversations that celebrate motherhood and mothering in all its forms'. The series features cameos from a variety of A-listers, including the likes of Kate Winslet, Giovanna Fletcher and Mary Berry - who made the duo a tasty homemade cake and a cup of tea. Cressida's close friend Princess Eugenie, who was the brains behind her match with Harry, will also speak as a guest. A sneak preview posted on the podcast's Instagram account saw Eugenie, 35, speak touchingly about her own mother, Sarah Ferguson. 'What is the most valuable thing you have learned from your mum?' Cressida asked.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Prince Harry's pregnant ex Cressida Bonas shows off her growing baby bump as she attends London event with half-sister Isabella Branson
Cressida Bonas showed off her growing baby bump this morning as she joined her half-sister Isabella Branson at an event in London. Prince Harry 's ex-girlfriend, 36, who recently launched the podcast Lessons From Our Mothers, was glowing in a silk jumpsuit and cropped jumper. The daughter of Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon and Jeffrey Bonas, Cressida looked typically stylish at Thursday morning's event championing 'poetry, presence and purposeful conversation' to mark mental health awareness week, which was hosted by Scottish poet Donna Ashworth. She arrived at South Kensington's private members' club NEXUS - regularly frequented by stars like Liz Hurley and Ronnie Wood - in a green and white silk jumpsuit, featuring a polka dot design, and a bright yellow cropped jumper. With her blonde hair styled in loose waves and wearing only natural make-up, Cressida's natural beauty shone through. She accessorised her striking outfit with a raffia tote bag and chunky trainers. The actress, who dated Prince Harry for two years until 2014, married property investor Harry Wentworth-Stanley in 2020 and is currently pregnant with their second child. The actress, who shares two-year-old Wilbur with husband Harry, also 36, has previously spoken candidly about her struggle to conceive the first time around and her experience of IVF. At the beginning of 2025, she revealed that she had been 'fortunate to have another embryo stored away in a freezer' - which the couple used to conceive baby number two. Model and actress Isabella, 45, who is married to Richard Branson's son Sam, chose an equally summery ensemble, which included blue and white striped trousers and an oversized white shirt worn open at the neck. The half-sisters were joined by several other women, including fellow actress Tamzin Outhwaite and TV presenter Julia Bradbury, at this morning's event. Former EastEnders actress Tamzin looked elegant in wide-leg jeans and a striped blazer while Julia, who has fronted programmes on BBC, ITV and Channel 5, paired her jeans with colourful trainers and a white smock top. Many of the other guests, all of whom enjoyed breakfast and took part in a number of workshops, appeared to have been inspired by the recent summery weather when choosing their outfits. The women who attended Donna Ashworth's event posed for photographs with the poet while Cressida and Isabella, 45, were pictured sharing a sisterly embrace. Earlier this year, Cressida told of her heartbreaking struggles to conceive in a candid personal essay. She equally opened up about her fears of losing her 78-year-old mother, Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, and gave readers an insight into how she coped with her sister Pandora Cooper-Key's death from cancer. In an article written for The Telegraph, Cressida 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'. The actress added that her late sister Pandora, who died in July aged 51, always 'played a maternal role' and was 'protecting her even in her final days'. In a further candid confession, she revealed that she and her siblings feared they were going to 'lose their mother' when she was rushed into intensive care last year. 'My husband and I struggled to conceive, and our son is a product of IVF. Fortunately, after the successful transfer of another of our embryos, I am pregnant with our second child. 'Even though I remind myself how fortunate we are to have been able to have children, being a mum is the most challenging thing I've ever done. It is unpredictable, frightening and it tests me every day,' she wrote. The socialite, who dated Prince Harry from 2012 to 2014 and still remains close to the royal family, revealed that she was pregnant with her second child in January of this year. 'I am now well into my second pregnancy,' she wrote in The Spectator magazine. 'Having conceived through IVF the first time, we were fortunate to have another embryo stored away in a freezer.' Cressida added that it has been difficult pregnancy. 'I've been battling morning sickness,' she said. 'I've never had it before, and now feel like I've been swaying on a boat for months.' Pandora (left) said her sister Georgiana (right) was left worrying about whether she was dead or alive after having a seizure. Above: The pair pictured with Cressida Bonas (middle) Cressida dated Prince Harry from 2012 to 2014 after being set up by Princess Eugenie. Pictured in March 2014 Cressida's close friend Princess Eugenie, who was the brains behind her match with Harry, will speak as a guest on her new podcast, Lessons From Our Mothers. A sneak preview posted on the podcast's new Instagram account saw Eugenie, 34, speak touchingly about her own mother, Sarah Ferguson. 'What is the most valuable thing you have learned from your mum?' Cressida asks in an episode. Eugenie said: 'I think for me, it's the fire inside, you know, the strength inside of you, and how to bring that out, and to pull it in when you most need it.' Cressida announced the podcast on her Instagram account, writing: 'We are excited to share something that we've been working on for a while…our new podcast, Lessons From Our Mothers, launching on Mothering Sunday 2025! 'Have you ever stopped to think about the maternal figures in your life and how they have shaped who you are today? Have you ever asked them about their own experiences, or thought about the lessons that you have learned from them?' She continued: 'Lessons From Our Mothers is a series of conversations that celebrate motherhood and mothering in all its forms. 'When our own mum fell ill last year, we set out to ask her all the questions that we had never thought to ask - and now, we're on a sisterly mission to find out the stories of some special guests (and their mothers) through this podcast.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas shares gushing birthday tribute to her 'dream guy' husband
Prince Harry 's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas has shared a sweet birthday tribute to her 'dream guy' husband. The actress and model previously dated the Duke of Sussex for two years from 2012 to 2014, after being introduced by his cousin, Princess Eugenie. However, Cressida reportedly struggled with the intense media scrutiny that came with being involved with a senior royal, with the pressure believed to have caused their eventual split. Since her high-profile romance with Harry, Cressida has largely remained tight-lipped about her personal life with her now-husband Harry Wentworth-Stanley. Today, she gave a rare insight into their life together, as the 36-year-old shared a glimpse into their life together in a sweet Instagram post. Images of the couple throughout the years, and with their son Wilbur, born in 2022, were captioned with the text: 'Happy birthday to my dream guy.' Her post with her husband, a real estate agent and the son of the Marchioness of Milford Haven, presented a picture of serene domestic bliss. Cressida is believed to remain on good terms with Harry and his family, including her long-time friend Princess Eugenie, and even attended her ex-boyfriend's wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018. Cressida met her husband during their time at Leeds University, where they briefly dated before parting ways. After her high-profile relationship with Prince Harry ended, she and Wentworth-Stanley reconnected. Their renewed romance blossomed, leading to an engagement in August 2019. In July 2020, the couple married in a private countryside ceremony, with only close family and friends in attendance. The young couple welcomed their first child, Wilbur, in November, 2022. In January this year, Cressida happily announced she was expecting their second child, conceived via a frozen embryo from earlier IVF treatment. 'I am now well into my second pregnancy,' she said. 'Having conceived through IVF the first time, we were fortunate to have another embryo stored away in a freezer.' The expecting mother revealed that this has been a difficult pregnancy. 'I've been battling morning sickness,' she said. 'I've never had it before, and now feel like I've been swaying on a boat for months.' The couple, who live in west London, are now seeking a bigger home. Cressida says their pet dachshund, Budgie, 'is bound to be unimpressed' by the house move. 'Not only are we uprooting her territory, but there's a new family member on the way and she can sense it.' In 2022, Cressida described how she felt as though 'my body was failing me' after facing difficulties in conceiving, and when a specialist told the couple 'there was nothing fundamentally wrong'. Writing in The Sunday Times, she said: 'I spent time and money on reflexology, nutritionists, acupuncture and psychics…Even a German healer who speaks to angels. I heard nothing, not a squeak. 'My mind was on a constant worry loop and my obsession with getting pregnant became overwhelming. No matter how many Mystic Megs I saw or expensive supplements I took, nothing was working, and I felt as if my body was failing me.' Cressida admitted to 'avoiding' loved one's children's parties due to feeling out of place around her friends who had kids, amid the struggle to have her own. She went on to say that IVF firstly 'frightened' her due to having no 'power' over the final outcome.
