This Flashback Friday, we pay tribute to Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who sadly passed away in February 2017. The sparkling socialite and regular HELLO! cover star was a much-loved part of the HELLO! family. Her warmth and wit touched so many and her sudden death last year came as a shock to many, including her good friend Prince Charles.
The first time we photographed Tara was in the nineties. The fresh-faced 23-year-old, with her mischievous twinkle and the naughtiest of laughs, told us: "The things you're not allowed to do are always the things I want to do. I am slightly wild." Over the next two decades HELLO! joined Tara, or TPT as she was known, on photoshoots all over the world – at her ski chalet in Klosters, Switzerland, her cliff-top villa in Bali and the penthouse flat in west London where her life came to an end.
Tara sadly passed away one year ago
We found that she could indeed be wild and unpredictable, but there was so much more besides. A classically trained pianist, she was smart, talented, engaging, daring, creative, kind and so very, very funny. She was also a fine raconteur, recounting stories that would make your jaw hit the floor. She shone in front of the camera, knowing instinctively how to strike a pose to rival any catwalk queen, as our portfolio of pictures shows.
Tara spoke about her funeral two weeks before her death
After her death, Prince Charles was one of the first to pay tribute. Issuing a statement with his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, the couple expressed how "deeply saddened" they were by the loss, saying: "Our thoughts are so much with the family." Sarah, Duchess of York, paid her own heartfelt tribute, writing: "The York family are so shocked by this tragic news of the magnificent, beautifully energetic soul of Tara." Duncan James, from Channel 4's Hollyoaks and also boyband Blue, declared himself "heartbroken and numb" at losing a dear friend and former girlfriend.
