Cressida Bonas is reportedly in a state of shock upon learning of the sudden death of her former stepfather Christopher Shaw.
The former banker, who was married to Bonas's mother Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon in the 90s, was found dead last Friday inside his rented home in Salisbury, England by his housekeeper.

The Wiltshire police, who came into the house that same day, said that a coroner has been called out to perform a post-mortem examination on Shaw's remains. They also said that there were no suspicious circumstances behind his death; however, according to The Sun, Shaw's death may be an apparent suicide by drug overdose.

The Mirror reports that Shaw was "in good spirits after returning from a holiday in Cuba," at the same time, he was also under medication for is chronic kidney disease. He was also told that he only had 18 months to live.

Cressida, now 24, was seven years old when her mother married Shaw; and despite their eventual divorce when she was 11 years old, the latter "was (her) father figure in her formative years."

"He may not have been her biological father but he was a massive part of her life," says a close friend of Shaw to The Sun.

Shaw was once known for his lavish lifestyle, and reportedly wooed Lady Mary-Gaye with a Venetian-themed party. But another close friend told The Mirror that he "decided at Eton that he wanted to live like a 19th-century landed aristocrat and he did just that."

Prior to his marriage to Lady Mary-Gaye, he was married to Liza Gard, niece of banker Loel Guiness, then to a Frenchwoman before marrying meeting Lady Mary-Gaye.

Cressida was born to Lady Mary-Gaye, heir to the Curzon banking family, and entrepreneur Jeffrey Bonas. She has been dating Prince Harry since June 2012.