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.
