Queen Camilla led tributes to Dame Jilly Cooper on Friday as
actors, authors and friends gathered at Southwark Cathedral on
Friday to celebrate the life of the novelist whose racy
storytelling reshaped popular British fiction.
The Queen, a longstanding friend of the author, was welcomed by
the Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley, as she arrived
for a service of thanksgiving held close to London Bridge. The
cathedral was filled with figures from literature, television,
theatre and sport – a reflection of Cooper’s unusually broad
cultural reach.
Among those paying their respects were several members of the
cast of Rivals, the Disney+ adaptation that introduced
Cooper’s work to a new generation. Danny Dyer, David Tennant, Alex
Hassell, Bella Maclean, Victoria Smurfit and Aidan Turner were
among the actors seen entering the cathedral alongside writers,
broadcasters and family friends.
Dame Jilly’s literary agent, Felicity Blunt, attended with her
husband, the actor Stanley Tucci, who drew smiles from mourners by
carrying a tote bag bearing the words “I love Jilly Cooper”.
Speaking outside the service, Tucci described the author as
“extraordinary – a brilliant writer, a nice person and naughty”,
adding that her books had changed the lives of countless readers,
including his wife.
Joanna Lumley, Rupert Everett, Alan Titchmarsh, Clare Balding,
Caitlin Moran, Derek Jacobi and Nicky Haslam were also among those
present, alongside former England football captain Tony Adams and
broadcasters Gyles Brandreth and Helen Lederer.
Dame Jilly Cooper died in October aged 88 after suffering head
injuries in an accidental fall at her Gloucestershire home. An
inquest later concluded that she died from a traumatic subdural
haematoma, with no suspicious circumstances. Her children, Felix
and Emily, said at the time that the family had been left in
“complete shock” by her sudden death.
Born in Hornchurch, Essex, in 1937, Cooper began her career as a
journalist in the 1950s, becoming known for her candid writing on
love, marriage and social life. She published her first book,
How to Stay Married, in 1969 before turning to fiction,
where she found enduring fame chronicling the passions, rivalries
and absurdities of England’s upper-middle classes.
Her debut novel Emily appeared in 1975, beginning a
publishing partnership that lasted half a century. Over that time
she produced eighteen novels and more than twenty works of
non-fiction, most famously the Rutshire Chronicles, and sold more
than 11 million books in the UK alone.
The revival of interest in her work following the screen
adaptation of Rivals brought renewed attention to an
author often described as both scandalous and sharp-eyed –
celebrated for her wit as much as her explicit prose.
Queen Camilla, who wore a blue coat dress for the service, had
previously spoken publicly of her affection for Cooper, recalling
with amusement the novelist’s irreverent humour and exuberant
personality. In a quiet moment after the service, the Queen was
photographed beside a portrait of the author, standing with the
Dean beneath the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalcentral.co.uk ’
