Dame Jilly Cooper died from a head injury after falling at her home in Gloucestershire, an inquest has found.
Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, said the 88-year-old author “fell, perhaps down some stairs, sustaining a significant head injury”.
Though the fall was unwitnessed, forensic evidence in the area surrounding the stairs suggested that it was where the fall occurred.
South Western Ambulance Service were called at 5.35pm on 4 October and arrived at Dame Jilly’s home at 5.56pm, they told the inquiry in a statement.
Dame Jilly was initially alert and speaking with the crew on arrival. She did not recall the exact details of the fall, with only a “vague recollection of falling down”, but she spoke of having a severe headache.
She was transferred to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, where an urgent CT scan found she had sustained a skull fracture, determined likely to be a terminal event.
“The medical opinion was that this head injury was unfortunately catastrophic,” said Ms Skerrett. “She was made comfortable, her condition sadly thereafter deteriorated, and she passed away in the emergency department with family”.
Dame Jilly’s long-standing GP told the inquest that she had fallen twice previously, in 2018 and in September 2024.
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She died in hospital at 8.30am on 5 October. Her death was found to be accidental, with Ms Skerrett saying “there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her fall”.
Ms Skerrett extended the “sincere condolences” of the coroner’s office to Dame Jilly’s family.
In a statement after her death, her children Emily Tarrant and Felix Cooper paid tribute to their mum, saying that “her unexpected death has come as a complete shock”.
“We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us,” they added.
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The author’s many fans included former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who said her books offered “escapism”. She was a long-standing friend of Queen Camilla.
One of Dame Jilly’s most-loved characters – the showjumping womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black – was partly based on the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
He was recently portrayed by actor Alex Hassell in the 2024 Disney+ adaptation of her novel Rivals.
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace after Dame Jilly’s death, Camilla said: “I join my husband, the King, in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family. And may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.”
A new edition of Dame Jilly’s book, How To Survive Christmas, which was first published in 1986, will be released on 13 November.
Her funeral will be held in private, in line with her wishes, but a public service of thanksgiving will be held at Southwark Cathedral at a later date, her agent has said.
