Queen Camilla looked solemn as she led a host of celebrity stars paying tribute to the late Dame Jilly Cooper at a memorial service to celebrate her life on Friday.
The author, who passed away unexpectedly on 5 October 2025, aged 88, was honoured by hundreds of famous names at Southwark Cathedral in London.
These included Rivals stars Bella Maclean, who plays Taggie, and Alex Hassell, who famously stars as the lead character, the devilish Rupert Campbell Black. The showjumper, who appears in The Rutshire Chronicles, is said to be partly based on the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles, who was present at the service with their son, Tom.
Camilla, 78, known to be a huge fan of Cooper's writing, was joined by the likes of Clare Balding, Aidan Turner and Joanna Lumley. Among those also at the Southwark Cathedral service were Rivals stars David Tennant, Victoria Smurfit, Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson. Others in attendance are Dame Jilly’s literary agent Felicity Blunt and her husband, actor Stanley Tucci. Camilla previously described Dame Jilly as a “wonderfully witty and compassionate friend” and a writing “legend”.
Alex Hassell and Emma King attend Jilly Cooper's memorial
Leading the stars of 'Rivals' in attendance was Alex Hassell, who plays Rupert Campbell Black. He was joined by his wife Emma King, who is also an actress.
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth has paid tribute to the “fabulous” and “amazing” Dame Jilly Cooper.
He said: "Whenever I think of Jilly Cooper, I think of one word, a three letter word, fun, fun, fun, fun. That sums her up.
"This is, of course, terribly sad, but also it’s a celebration of an amazing life, an amazing writer, an amazing human being.
"Champagne is being popped in heaven today and I’m honoured and delighted to be here amongst so many celebrating an amazing writer."
He continued: "I first met her nearly 60 years ago. We were both young authors. We sat at the back of a bus. I held her hand, and she decided to talk to me about sex. I saw her a few weeks before she died. We sat in the back of the bus, we held hands, we talked about sex. She was fabulous."
TV host Lisa Maxwell was another star-studded name.
The writer - known for her “bonkbusters” including Riders, Rivals and Polo - died after sustaining a fatal head injury during a fall at her Gloucestershire home.
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Rivals, set in the 1980s against the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside, was recently adapted into the award-winning eponymous Disney+ TV series starring a host of famous actors including Tennant and Dyer.
A number of Dame Jilly’s novels were adapted for TV, including an ITV series of The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous with Coronation Street star Stephen Billington and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, and a Riders series starring Marcus Gilbert during the 1990s. She was also behind the 1970s sitcom It’s Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, which starred Dame Joanna Lumley.
Dame Jilly wrote the hit novel Mount! and published her most recent work Tackle! in 2023, which she wrote on her trusty manual typewriter named Monica. The author was made a CBE for services to literature and charity during the 2018 New Year Honours, and in 2024 was made a dame, later describing receiving the honour from the King as “orgasmic”.
Remembering Dame Jilly Cooper
Announcing her death in October, Jilly's two children, Felix and Emily, confirmed the news in a statement that read: "Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds. 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."
In a tribute from Buckingham Palace at the time, Camilla said: "I was so saddened to learn of Dame Jilly’s death last night. 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.
"In person she was a wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many – and it was a particular pleasure to see her just a few weeks ago at my Queen’s Reading Room Festival where she was, as ever, a star of the show. 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." The message was signed 'Camilla R'.
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