Harry Styles is in mourning after learning that his stepfather, Robin Twist, has died at the age of 57 following a battle against cancer.

Confirming the news that Twist had passed away earlier this week, a spokesperson for the former One Direction singer said on Thursday (June 22nd): “Harry’s stepfather, Robin Twist, sadly passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. The family asks for privacy at this time.”

Harry’s stepfather also leaves behind two grown-up children from his previous marriage, named Mike and Amy.

Harry StylesHarry Styles' stepfather Robin Twist has passed away after a battle with cancer

Twist had married Styles’ mother, Anne Cox, back in June 2013 in a ceremony in Congleton in Cheshire, where the 23 year old pop star acted as his best man, such was the closeness of his relationship to his stepdad.

“I practised on my own for days beforehand, on the sofa reciting it to myself,” he revealed in an interview some years ago. “I tried to make it have a bit of everything. When everyone thought it was going to be really emotional, I pulled the rug out from under everyone’s feet and injected a bit of humour. It seemed to go well.”

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Though the wedding happened just four years ago, Twist had met Harry’s mum a long time before that, and helped her to raise Harry and his sister Gemma through their teenage years.

A post shared by Anne (@annetwist) on

“I was always asking mum if he was coming over. But she wanted to make sure Gemma and I were okay with him being. She worried a lot so I used to text him and tell him to come over,” Styles said in his recent autobiography.

The sad news comes just six months after Harry’s former 1D bandmate Louis Tomlinson suffered a similar bereavement, after his mother Johannah Deakin passed away at the age of just 42 after a battle with leukaemia.

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