Dame Jilly Cooper's family released an urgent statement this morning confirming the shocking death of the cherished author.

Dame Jilly was recognised as the queen of the bonkbuster and sold over 10 million books in the UK alone. Jilly's devastated children Felix and Emily released a statement today to confirm their mother had passed away suddenly on Sunday, as they said they couldn't begin to imagine life without her.

They confirmed: "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dame Jilly Cooper, DBE who died on Sunday morning, after a fall, at the age of 88."

Her family went on to say: "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," reports the Mirror.

A public service will be held in the coming months in Southwark Cathedral to provide an opportunity for everyone that knew Jilly to celebrate her extraordinary life, they said. Felicity Blunt, her agent, also posted a lengthy tribute - saying Jilly's passing meant she had "lost a friend, an ally and mentor".

She penned: "The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago. Jilly will undoubtedly be best remembered for her chart-topping series The Rutshire Chronicles and its havoc-making and handsome show-jumping hero Rupert Campbell-Black.

"You wouldn't expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things - class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility."

She continued: "Her plots were both intricate and gutsy, spiked with sharp observations and wicked humour. She regularly mined her own life for inspiration and there was something Austenesque about her dissections of society, its many prejudices and norms. But if you tried to pay her this compliment, or any compliment, she would brush it aside.

"She wrote, she said, simply 'to add to the sum of human happiness'. In this regard as a writer she was and remains unbeatable. In her last few years Jilly added to her curriculum vitae by serving as an executive producer on the Happy Prince adaptation of her novel Rivals for Disney+.

"Her suggestions for story and dialogue inevitably layered and enhanced scripts and her presence on set was a joy for cast and crew alike. Emotionally intelligent, fantastically generous, sharply observant and utter fun Jilly Cooper will be deeply missed by all at Curtis Brown and on the set of Rivals."

Jilly's novels proved enormously successful amongst her contemporaries, notably Queen Camilla - who reportedly adores her literary works.

The duo encountered one another at the third annual Queen's Reading Room literary festival, where Dame Jilly disclosed precisely what Her Majesty had expressed.

"We chatted about how much we love each other. I've been very lucky. It's lovely they all like it. Even her. We've known each other a long time. We live near each other. Andrew [Parker Bowles, Camilla's former husband] is a wonderful man. Her Majesty and Andrew still get on so well. They are still great friends who are very fond of each other," she revealed.