The Queen has led tributes to the author Dame Jilly Cooper, who has died at the age of 88. Camilla described her as a “legend” and a “wonderfully witty and compassionate friend” in a message released by Buckingham Palace. The writer, known for her “bonkbusters” including Riders, Rivals and Polo, died unexpectedly on Sunday morning after a fall.
In her tribute, the Queen said: “Very few writers get to be a legend in their own lifetime but Jilly was one, creating a whole new genre of literature and making it her own through a career that spanned over five decades.” She added: “May her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.” Dame Jilly was a long-standing friend of Camilla, and based her fictional seducer Rupert Campbell-Black partly on the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
Dame Jilly’s children Felix and Emily said in a statement: “Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.” Downing Street also paid tribute, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman saying: “Dame Jilly Cooper was a literary force whose wit, warmth and wisdom shaped British culture for over half a century and brought joy to millions.”
The executive producers of the Rivals series, Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb, said they were “broken-hearted” and described working with her as “the most incredible honour”. Her agent Felicity Blunt said it was “the privilege of her career” to have worked with a woman who “defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over 50 years ago”.
