Prince Charles has led the tributes to his close family friend, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, following the news of her death at the age of 45.
The Prince Of Wales and Duchess Of Cornwall are longtime friends of Tara’s parents, and said in an official statement on Wednesday (8 February) that they were “deeply saddened” to learn that she had died.
Their statement continued: “Our thoughts are so much with the family.”
The former ‘It’ girl was renowned for her wide circle of friends, both with her royal connections and through her stints on reality television, with many stars who knew or worked with Tara during her life paying their respects in the wake of the sad news, including several of her former ‘I’m A Celebrity’ campmates.
While Rhona Cameron shared her “condolences” to Tara’s family, former competitor Christine Hamilton acknowleged their “differences” but remembered her as a “vivacious” and “talented girl”.
At the tail-end of last year, Tara went public with the fact that she’d been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015.
She said at the time: “I wanted to deal with my illness privately but there have been so many rumours flying around.”
The tumour was found to have been malignant, though she said that drugs had been able to reduce its size.
A police spokesperson said on Wednesday that her death was being treated as “unexplained” but not “suspicious”.
They said: “Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 13:40hrs on Wednesday, 8 February to an address in Bramham Gardens, SW5. A woman, aged in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed.
“Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. The Coroner has been informed.”