Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has been found dead at her flat in South Kensington, London, at the age of 45. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a woman in her 40s was discovered deceased at the property in Bramham Gardens at 13:40 GMT on Wednesday.
Palmer-Tomkinson rose to fame in the 1990s as a hard-partying 'It girl' and was a regular on the London party scene. She later became a Sunday Times columnist and appeared on reality TV shows including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2002. She also battled a high-profile cocaine addiction, which she discussed publicly.
In 2016, she was diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumour after returning from a skiing trip. She also suffered from an auto immune disease that caused acute anaemia, tiredness and joint pain. Despite her health struggles, she used her celebrity status to raise awareness of brain tumours.
Prince Charles, a close friend of the family, led tributes, saying he was 'deeply saddened' by her death. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall said their 'thoughts are so much with the family'. Television host Piers Morgan paid tribute on Twitter, calling her 'a fun, feisty woman who battled many demons'.
Palmer-Tomkinson was the daughter of an aristocratic farmer and grew up in Hampshire. Her father Charles was a former Olympic skier who taught Prince Charles. In 1988, the family was skiing with the prince when they were hit by an avalanche that killed Major Hugh Lindsay and left her mother with serious injuries.
