Tara Palmer-Tomkinson sadly passed away aged 45 following a battle with a brain tumour.
The former socialite and friend of the Royal family was found dead in her London apartment yesterday afternoon, three months after revealing she was receiving treatment for a cancerous growth in her pituitary gland.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have said they are ‘deeply saddened’ by the loss of their friend, adding: ‘Our thoughts are so much with the family’.
Tara’s Olympic skier father Charles Palmer-Tomkinson forged a lasting bond with the Prince of Wales after teaching him to ski in the 70s.
Their friendship continued through the generations, with Tara invited to accompany Prince Charles and his children on numerous skiing trips in Europe.
The former It-girl reportedly spent lots of time in Switzerland with the royals throughout her life, providing support to young princes William and Harry after the death of their mother, Princess Diana.
In November last year, Tara spoke with the Daily Mail of her fears about her cancer diagnosis.
‘I went to the doctors to talk about my latest blood test results when I got back from skiing in January. I said: ‘What does this mean? Can you translate it?’ And the doctor said: ‘As I suspected, you have a brain tumour’.
‘I got terribly frightened. I started thinking, I’m going to die, I’m going to die. I’ve only got a couple of weeks to live.
Her blood tests also found she was suffering with an auto-immune disease which had caused tiredness, joint pain and acute anaemia.
Earlier in 2016, Tara told the Daily Mail that she was still single and could not remember when she last had a date – but that she had wanted children when she was younger.
“I thought I’d be married and have two children by now. I imagined I’d be living in the country. I’d have my parents’ lifestyle, basically,” she said at the time.
According to the Daily Mail police say they are treating her death as ‘unexplained’ but not suspicious.
