Prince Charles has led tributes to his goddaughter Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

The 68-year-old British royal and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, said they were "deeply saddened" by the news that Tara had passed away at her home in London on Wednesday (08.02.17) afternoon at the age of 45.

In a statement, they said: "We are deeply saddened and our thoughts are so much with the family."

Family friend Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, also paid tribute to Tara, who she said had a "magnificent and beautifully energetic soul".

She said in a statement: "The York Family are so shocked by this tragic news of the magnificent, beautifully energetic soul of Tara. My mother, Susie Barrantes, was her very proud godmother, and she adored her. We are all deeply shocked and saddened and send all our love and strength to the family in Dummer."

A police spokesperson confirmed they were called to a property in London and says the death is currently "being treated as unexplained".

They said: "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 13:40hrs on Wednesday, 8 February to an address in Bramham Gardens, SW5.

"A woman, aged in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed. The death is being treated as unexplained. At this early stage, police are not treating the death as suspicious. Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. The Coroner has been informed."

The socialite had revealed a year ago that she had a brain tumour and was convinced she had just "weeks to live" when doctors broke the news to her.

She said at the time: "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.' Stuff like that."

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