Tara Palmer Tomkinson aged 45

Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson found dead

A former Sunday Times columnist, reality TV star, and goddaughter of Prince Charles had received treatment in 2016 for a non-malignant brain tumour.
Officers were called to her flat in Bramham Gardens, South Kensington, at 13:40 GMT. A woman in her 40s was found dead at the scene, the Met Police said.
The death is being treated as unexplained.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall released a statement in which they said they were "deeply saddened and our thoughts are so much with the family", following the death of their close friend.
Palmer-Tomkinson rose to fame in the 1990s as a hard-partying "it girl" and put her names to several columns chronicling her glamorous lifestyle.
She was diagnosed with the tumour last January after returning from a skiing trip, and hit back at critics who blamed her frail health on her well-documented cocaine addiction.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38911818

She apparently did a very emotional interview with Jeremy Kyle and that was her last.
She'd also recorded a single.

She seemed a troubled soul and I hope she has found peace.

I just read this...it's very sad.
She was one of the few posh girls on TV who seemed to have a brilliant personality. She talked so openly of her problems, and seemed to have conquered her drug and drink abuse.

RIP Tara P T. x

Too young, too soon.  A Greek tragedy   Tara tried hard to beat her demons. She was from one of the wealthiest families in Britain, very close to the royals.

She said she sneezed in the shower one day and something flew out of her nose and when she looked down at the floor she saw that it WAS her nose. Coke had rotted it. A surgeon created a new one for her and did a great job. Her arrest at an airport for unruly conduct recently raised questions about whether she was  back on it.

nutty as a fruitcake.

Syl wrote:I just read this...it's very sad.
She was one of the few posh girls on TV who seemed to have a brilliant personality. She talked so openly of her problems, and seemed to have conquered her drug and drink abuse.

RIP Tara P T. x

I doubt she ever kicked the habits.

Well no doubt the cause of her death will be known soon enough.
Whether she did manage to get clean or not, it's sad that such a young woman, with so much to live for, has died so suddenly.

Syl wrote:Well no doubt the cause of her death will be known soon enough.
Whether she did manage to get clean or not, it's  sad that such a young woman, with so much to live for, has died so suddenly.

I don't really have much sympathy for her, I'm afraid. She had so more opportunities and privilege than most people who have survived and overcome much more agregious circumstances and problems. What did for her, and her mental health, were the recreationals. A four hundred pound a day cocaine habit was probably the tip of the iceberg. She chose to fry her brains with them.

It is a shame, as she was quite talented in some ways. But hey ho, you reap what you sow.

TPT was a rich socialite who mixed with Royalty, Charles was her Godfather. She had all the privileges working class never got. She chose to abuse her body with drugs, I can't feel sorry for her. Poor little rich girl.

Cocaine is lethal, when used for long enough and in high enough doses...

And once the damage is done, it is irreversible --  unlike with some other drugs, that harm isn't repaired or reversed over time..

Andy Gibb died from cocaine abuse, more than 18 months after he was "clean".   And in this latest case --  even if per chance she had stopped snorting a year or three ago, there's a very high chance that Ms Tomkinson's well-adverised coke addiction would have been a contributing factor...

magica wrote:TPT was a rich socialite who mixed with Royalty, Charles was her Godfather. She had all the privileges working class never got. She chose to abuse her body with drugs, I can't feel sorry for her. Poor little rich girl.

She was a rich socialite Mags, which just proves that money cant buy happiness or contentment.
She always said that she felt she didn't fit in with the family she was born in...she never felt good or successful enough, so being born into such privilege doesn't always mean you have it all.

I liked her friendly outgoing personality....she could sing too, I watched a video of her last night, she was more talented that she gave herself credit for.

I remember her on Get me out of here, she made me laugh, she was nuts. High on drugs.

I know money can't buy everything Syl, but she had a darn sight more chances and help than the kid on the street.

Lots of rich kids have everything but parental love.

I remember her on IACGMOOH......She came across
As really nice.

Hey here together Syl lol.

Whatever, she abused her own body, no one else did it to her.

magica wrote:Hey here together Syl lol.

Whatever, she abused her own body, no one else did it to her.

I know....we are a couple of night owls.

There seems to be an assumption that whatever she died of was self inflicted. She had an autoimmune disease - some kind of vasculitis apparently. That could have been enough to kill her if it was severe enough.

Annnd yet again...a "celeb" who's "input " into society amounted to what???

and its weeping and wailing in the papers etc...


what about old Bert down the street....who at least "contributed" by digging out the black stuff...

who give a shit about him then???

Lord Foul wrote:Annnd yet again...a "celeb" who's "input " into society amounted to what???

and its weeping and wailing in the papers etc...


what about old Bert down the street....who at least "contributed" by digging out the black stuff...

who give a shit about him then???

They can't have articles about all deaths in the paper - there would be no room for anything else. She died, and it's sad IMO, especially as she had a couple of medical conditions which must have been difficult to live with. She was famous for being famous, I agree, and also because she was mates with Prince Charles.

It is so sad that she died, and at such a young age, too. Her family and friends must be absolutely devastated.

But I can't help wondering...whatever value to real life, given all its problems and personal tragedies, is an "It Girl"?

exactly Moley....I can recognise the personal tradgedy of this to her family and friends...but beyond that...

Fred Moletrousers wrote:It is so sad that she died, and at such a young age, too. Her family and friends must be absolutely devastated.

But I can't help wondering...whatever value to real life, given all its problems and personal tragedies,  is an "It Girl"?

Well what value is anyone really, other than to those who actually know them? She was a real person who had some medical issues and possibly some other issues as well. Isn't that what's a bit scary? She appeared to have an easy life, but she clearly didn't. The fact that she was pretty upbeat, despite everything, is quite an achievement in itself.

I've been trying to find out which autoimmune condition she had, but nobody has really named it. It appears to be related to antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies which can cause vasculitis. It could have been GPA/Wegener's granulomatosis.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/wegeners-granulomatosis/pages/introduction.aspx

Raggamuffin wrote:

Fred Moletrousers wrote:It is so sad that she died, and at such a young age, too. Her family and friends must be absolutely devastated.

But I can't help wondering...whatever value to real life, given all its problems and personal tragedies,  is an "It Girl"?

Well what value is anyone really, other than to those who actually know them? She was a real person who had some medical issues and possibly some other issues as well. Isn't that what's a bit scary? She appeared to have an easy life, but she clearly didn't. The fact that she was pretty upbeat, despite everything, is quite an achievement in itself.

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

Well what value is anyone really, other than to those who actually know them? She was a real person who had some medical issues and possibly some other issues as well. Isn't that what's a bit scary? She appeared to have an easy life, but she clearly didn't. The fact that she was pretty upbeat, despite everything, is quite an achievement in itself.

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

I wasn't referring to the unfortunate lady personally so much as wondering why an "It girl" - whatever one of those might be - should be considered worthy of such an amalgam of celebrity and outpourings of such public grief.

Fred Moletrousers wrote:

Syl wrote:

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

I wasn't referring to the unfortunate lady personally so much as wondering why an "It girl" - whatever one of those might be - should be considered worthy of such an amalgam of celebrity and outpourings of such public grief.

Public grief is embroidering it a bit.
It is hard to understand why the public do seem to grieve when complete strangers die....Lady Diana being the obvious person to think of.
I suppose when someone has been in the papers and on the TV for years, especially if the public have seen them from youngsters, a sort of affection grows for them.

I've seen some really nasty comments about her on the internet - some people really are horrible.

I dunno though - I sometimes think that some people are almost destined to die young. She was a fun-loving person, but she had problems. Perhaps the problems would have destroyed her in the end anyway.

I don't read facebook or Twitter...no doubt that's where a lot of people are saying horrible things.
Creeps and cowards seem to roam round those sites looking for people to persecute.

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

Well what value is anyone really, other than to those who actually know them? She was a real person who had some medical issues and possibly some other issues as well. Isn't that what's a bit scary? She appeared to have an easy life, but she clearly didn't. The fact that she was pretty upbeat, despite everything, is quite an achievement in itself.

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

Perhaps the word here is 'deserving' rather than 'important'. So far as I know, the It Girl only really contributed to her own destruction.

Fred Moletrousers wrote:It is so sad that she died, and at such a young age, too. Her family and friends must be absolutely devastated.

But I can't help wondering...whatever value to real life, given all its problems and personal tragedies,  is an "It Girl"?

Good point.  The only way for an IT girl to avoid looking completely selfish and pointless is to be involved in charity work. I'm sure TPT helped charities, cos she cared about her image and she was very pleasant and well liked.

These days I don't hear the term 'IT girl' as much as I used to. Maybe it's considered a bit naff now. Or maybe living a life of such decadence looks gross in these austerity times.


IMO, a typical 'IT' girl is a social butterfly whose life is one long round of parties as guest / host. A large trust fund set up by daddy funds her fabulous lifestyle. She does not usually work, apart from maybe writing a weekly column in a newpapaper or glossy mag, which brings in extra megabucks too.

Because she is well connected (to royalty or A list celebs) she gets to attend endless social functions: the openings of boutiques, fashion shows, restaurants, film premiers, Ascot racing, Wimbledon, and all society weddings. Throw in some fab skiing holidays too. I loved reading about their wonderful lifestyles.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

Perhaps the word here is 'deserving' rather than 'important'.  So far as I know,  the It Girl only really contributed to her own destruction.

Perhaps she was self medicating.

So much reverse snobbishness.

Bella wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

Perhaps the word here is 'deserving' rather than 'important'.  So far as I know,  the It Girl only really contributed to her own destruction.

 Perhaps she was self medicating.

So much reverse snobbishness.

With cocaine?

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

Perhaps the word here is 'deserving' rather than 'important'.  So far as I know,  the It Girl only really contributed to her own destruction.

You are not taking into account her medical issues. Are you suggesting that she is responsible for her own brain tumour and for her autoimmune disease? Of course, there are theories that autoimmune diseases are or can be triggered by lifestyle choices, traumatic events, and/or could even be the result of psychosomatic issues, but once triggered it seems that they can't be untriggered and they are real diseases. I'm not completely sure what she had, as I said earlier, but if she had some kind of vasculitis, that could have had bad consequences.

Even if people do contribute to their own destruction by taking drugs, well why did they take them in the first place? To help them cope perhaps?

Raggamuffin wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:

I agree...she never pretended to be Mother Theresa or Einstein, and in any case, who is to say one life is more important than another?

Perhaps the word here is 'deserving' rather than 'important'.  So far as I know,  the It Girl only really contributed to her own destruction.

You are not taking into account her medical issues. Are you suggesting that she is responsible for her own brain tumour and for her autoimmune disease? Of course, there are theories that autoimmune diseases are or can be triggered by lifestyle choices, traumatic events, and/or could even be the result of psychosomatic issues, but once triggered it seems that they can't be untriggered and they are real diseases. I'm not completely sure what she had, as I said earlier, but if she had some kind of vasculitis, that could have had bad consequences.

Even if people do contribute to their own destruction by taking drugs, well why did they take them in the first place? To help them cope perhaps?

Good post rags

eddie wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

You are not taking into account her medical issues. Are you suggesting that she is responsible for her own brain tumour and for her autoimmune disease? Of course, there are theories that autoimmune diseases are or can be triggered by lifestyle choices, traumatic events, and/or could even be the result of psychosomatic issues, but once triggered it seems that they can't be untriggered and they are real diseases. I'm not completely sure what she had, as I said earlier, but if she had some kind of vasculitis, that could have had bad consequences.

Even if people do contribute to their own destruction by taking drugs, well why did they take them in the first place? To help them cope perhaps?

Good post rags

Thank you eddie.

Raggamuffin wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

Perhaps the word here is 'deserving' rather than 'important'.  So far as I know,  the It Girl only really contributed to her own destruction.

You are not taking into account her medical issues. Are you suggesting that she is responsible for her own brain tumour and for her autoimmune disease? Of course, there are theories that autoimmune diseases are or can be triggered by lifestyle choices, traumatic events, and/or could even be the result of psychosomatic issues, but once triggered it seems that they can't be untriggered and they are real diseases. I'm not completely sure what she had, as I said earlier, but if she had some kind of vasculitis, that could have had bad consequences.

Even if people do contribute to their own destruction by taking drugs, well why did they take them in the first place? To help them cope perhaps?

She took them because she partied.   That's why most people take a social drug like cocaine.  It gives them a high and the energy to carry on partying until they drop.  She no doubt hammered the speed and ecstacy as well.     I lived with a cocaine addict, remember.   He didn't take them because he carried angst, or pain.  He took them because he wanted to.  Because it was part of the club culture, and because he was a party animal and he enjoyed it.

Her brain tumour was benign.  That's not what killed her.  I don't doubt the drugs killed her.

I don't know why people presume that all cocaine addicts take drugs to mask some kind of hidden or psychological pain.  Most people take recreationals because it's fun and affords a kind of pleasure that they want to repeat again and again.  It's really that simple.   The problem with drugs, is that if you do have any kind of psychological issues, no matter how small, then all that happens is you become unstable and paranoid much more quickly.  

I don't doubt this woman had problems, and unhappiness...but don't we all.

Edited to say: Long term cocaine use compromises the immune system. Like most drugs.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

You are not taking into account her medical issues. Are you suggesting that she is responsible for her own brain tumour and for her autoimmune disease? Of course, there are theories that autoimmune diseases are or can be triggered by lifestyle choices, traumatic events, and/or could even be the result of psychosomatic issues, but once triggered it seems that they can't be untriggered and they are real diseases. I'm not completely sure what she had, as I said earlier, but if she had some kind of vasculitis, that could have had bad consequences.

Even if people do contribute to their own destruction by taking drugs, well why did they take them in the first place? To help them cope perhaps?

She took them because she partied.   That's why most people take a social drug like cocaine.  It gives them a high and the energy to carry on partying until they drop.  She no doubt hammered the speed and ecstacy as well.     I lived with a cocaine addict, remember.   He didn't take them because he carried angst, or pain.  He took them because he wanted to.  Because it was part of the club culture, and because he was a party animal and he enjoyed it.

Her brain tumour was benign.  That's not what killed her.  I don't doubt the drugs killed her.

I don't know why people presume that all cocaine addicts take drugs to mask some kind of hidden or psychological pain.  Most people take recreationals because it's fun and affords a kind of pleasure that they want to repeat again and again.  It's really that simple.   The problem with drugs, is that if you do have any kind of psychological issues, no matter how small, then all that happens is you become unstable and paranoid much more quickly.  

I don't doubt this woman had problems, and unhappiness...but don't we all.

Edited to say: Long term cocaine use compromises the immune system.   Like most drugs.  

You may well be right about the cocaine. I didn't say that everyone who takes it does so because of unhappiness of some kind, they do it because it feels good and it's fun. Of course, they end up in a mess, as you know. It's not clear if she was actively using it leading up to her death. If she was, I doubt it was because it was fun - she was not out partying much in the end. If someone ends up addicted to illegal drugs, is it really self inflicted? You could say that I guess, but unfortunately a lot of people don't think about the consequences when they start.

However, that was just a small part of my post. What about the autoimmune disease? Many people have autoimmune disease without having used cocaine in their lives. Nobody really knows what causes autoimmune disease for sure, but the point is that it may well have been the cause of death if it was severe, or at least contributed. Her brain tumour was benign, but it might have caused other medical issues.

Is there an conclusion over the cause of death?

eddie wrote:Is there an conclusion over the cause of death?

No, not yet. I guess it could take some time.

Raggamuffin wrote:

eddie wrote:Is there an conclusion over the cause of death?

No, not yet. I guess it could take some time.

I'm guessing that if she had cocaine in her system then that may have been the cause of death. Perhaps it was intentional? Hope not. Hate to think of anyone feeling that shitty that they can kill themselves.

eddie wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

No, not yet. I guess it could take some time.

I'm guessing that if she had cocaine in her system then that may have been the cause of death. Perhaps it was intentional? Hope not. Hate to think of anyone feeling that shitty that they can kill themselves.

It takes ages to do toxicology reports. They haven't finished doing that for George Michael yet.

One of her friends said there was no sign she was using cocaine again, but who knows?

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tara-palmer-tomkinson-was-in-high-spirits-when-she-died-of-natural-causes-says-sister/ar-AAmY6Eh?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

So Tara died of natural causes.

Syl wrote:http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tara-palmer-tomkinson-was-in-high-spirits-when-she-died-of-natural-causes-says-sister/ar-AAmY6Eh?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

So Tara died of natural causes.

Hmmmm. Who dies of natural causes apart from old, already frail, people?

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tara-palmer-tomkinson-was-in-high-spirits-when-she-died-of-natural-causes-says-sister/ar-AAmY6Eh?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

So Tara died of natural causes.

Hmmmm. Who dies of natural causes apart from old, already frail, people?

She was frail because of her lifestyle though.
If that's what the coroners report says it must be right....mustn't it?

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tara-palmer-tomkinson-was-in-high-spirits-when-she-died-of-natural-causes-says-sister/ar-AAmY6Eh?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

So Tara died of natural causes.

Hmmmm. Who dies of natural causes apart from old, already frail, people?

She was frail because of her lifestyle though.
HIf that's what the coroners report says it must be right....mustn't it?

I guess. I just think if you have enough money you can sort it so you can die in peace and without anyone knowing why, should you so choose.

I read she died "peacefully" from a burst ulcer, that's bollocks,you get a burst ulcer you die screaming in pain unless your given Morphine and operated on quickly.

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tara-palmer-tomkinson-was-in-high-spirits-when-she-died-of-natural-causes-says-sister/ar-AAmY6Eh?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

So Tara died of natural causes.

Hmmmm. Who dies of natural causes apart from old, already frail, people?

Lots of people. You don't have to be old or frail to die of natural causes.

nicko wrote:I read she died "peacefully" from a burst ulcer,    that's bollocks,you get a burst ulcer you  die screaming in pain unless your given Morphine and operated on quickly.

She would probably have died of peritonitis or sepsis. Nobody knows if she was in pain because she was presumably in bed and nobody was with her at the time.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/celebrity/tara-palmer-tomkinson-died-of-natural-causes-a-perforated-ulcer-socialites-sister-reveals/ar-AAmY7ov?li=AA5a2k&ocid=spartanntp

According to the latest reports Tara did die of natural causes and she never had a brain tumour.
Her family say she tended to sometimes live in a fantasy world....sad end to a young life.

Hmmm, how do they know she never had a brain tumour? She didn't have one at the time of her death, but that's not the same as never having had one. She said herself that it had gone away. Did her family say that she never had one, or that she didn't have one? There is a difference.

Why would she make out she had a brain tumour?