Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has spoken of his “devastation” following the death of his estranged wife, Paddy Bowden.
Paddy Bowden’s body was discovered at the house she once shared with the musician in Chiswick, West London, just before 10am on Monday.
In a statement, the 61-year-old singer said: “This is a terrible tragedy which appears to be a tragic accident.
“Our children Austin, Griffin and Kia and I are devastated.
“Out of respect for Paddy we won’t be making any further comment at this hugely difficult and painful time for our family.”
London Ambulance Service confirmed that they were called to the address at 9.42am after reports of someone feeling “unwell.”
A spokesperson said: “We were called at 9.42am today to reports of a person unwell in Chiswick.
“We sent two ambulance crews to the scene – the first one arriving within two minutes.
“Sadly, the patient had already died.”
Paddy, who was in her 50s, married Bruce in 1990 after being together for two years.
But they split in 2018 after almost 29 years of marriage, with news of the separation only emerging last November.
The couple have three children - sons Austin, 29 and Griffin, 27, and daughter Kia, 28.
The Run to the Hills singer’s split from Paddy came four years after he beat stage three throat cancer after being told he had two tumours on his tongue.
The frontman was later given the all-clear after six months of intense chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Bruce opened up about his health battle in his 2017 autobiography, What Does This Button Do?
He later told Rolling Stone magazine: “Living is living now, every minute, every second, for right now.”
Iron Maiden have sold 80 million albums worldwide - making them one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time.