Prince Harry's ex, Cressida Bonas, has opened up about navigating parenthood as she prepares to give birth to her second child in less than two months. Speaking to Hello! Magazine, she said: "Motherhood is full of contradictions; it can be very challenging but can then be magical. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and the best thing I've ever done."

Cressida, 36, and her property developer husband, Harry Wentworth-Stanley, share a two-year-old son, Wilbur. Cressida's sister, Isabella, 45, and her husband Sam, the son of Virgin tycoon Sir Richard, are parents to daughter Eva, ten, and eight-year-old son Bluey.

Isabella also added: "It's such a privilege to be able to mother. It's a role I always wanted to play, and I am always learning."

Both half-siblings are exploring the topic of motherhood in a new podcast called Lessons from Our Mothers - and guests include Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, actress Kate Winslet, and Queen of cakes, Dame Mary Berry.

The idea for the podcast came about after their mother, Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, 78, was admitted to intensive care last year with pneumonia.

Cressida told the magazine: "We weren't sure if she was going to make it and there were still so many things we didn't know. She's had this amazing life, and we thought: 'Oh, but we want to ask more questions. We want to know more stories.'"

She added: "Then we thought: ‘Wouldn't it be interesting to talk to other people about their mothers, or the maternal influence in their life?'

"We'd also really like to talk to people who haven't necessarily had a great relationship with their mother, and what lessons they've taken away from that, because no mother is perfect."

The York sisters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie talk on the podcast about their mother Sarah, Duchess of York, including the most valuable things she has taught them.

"For me, it's the fire inside, the strength inside you and how to bring that out, and how to pull it in when you most need it," Princess Eugenie tells the hosts".

For Cressida, who married in 2020, the journey to motherhood hasn't been easy. Both Wilbur and her unborn baby are the result of IVF treatment.

"It took so long the first time, and I feel very lucky," she says. "In those moments when it's hard, I remind myself that it's a miracle."

Isabella also spoke about the changing roles of fathers over generations. She explained: "My husband is very hands on and he and all his friends were very involved from the outset, which is wonderful."

Cressida dated Prince Harry between 2012 and 2014 after being introduced to him by his cousin Princess Eugenie at a music festival in Hampshire.

Cressida and her current husband are believed to have first met when they were both students at Leeds University.