Princess Madeleine of Sweden has led tributes to Daisy Coleman, who appeared in the Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy, after she took her own life on Wednesday. The Swedish royal said she had been "honoured" to know the 23-year-old, who was a sexual assault victim advocate and co-founder of the non-profit organisation SafeBAE.
Madeleine works for the World Childhood Foundation, a funding partner of the organisation, which aims to help prevent sexual assault in schools.
Princess Madeleine of Sweden paid tribute to Daisy Coleman
Sharing a portrait of Daisy on Instagram, Madeleine wrote: "Today we lost one of our brightest stars. We are honoured to know Daisy Coleman and witness her strength and courage in action as a founder of SafeBAE. Let's together end sexual assault and abuse against children #fordaisy #safebae #worldchildhoodfoundation @safe_bae."
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Daisy, 23, was 14 when she alleged she had been raped at a party in Maryville, Missouri, in 2012. Her case drew national attention as she spoke of being bullied after the assault, but the charge against the teenage boy she accused was dropped.
She was featured in the award-winning 2016 Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy, which highlighted the bullying faced by teenage assault victims. Daisy went on to help co-found SafeBAE (Before Anyone Else), and the team said they were "shattered and shocked by her passing" in a statement released after her death.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrincess Madeleine works for the World Childhood Foundation
"She had many coping demons and had been facing and overcoming them all, but as many of you know, healing is not a straight path or any easy one. She fought longer and harder than we will ever know," they said.
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Daisy's mother, Melinda Coleman, shared the devastating news on Facebook, writing: "She was my best friend and amazing daughter. I think she had to make it seem like I could live without her. I can't.
"I wish I could have taken the pain from her! She never recovered from what those boys did to her and it's just not fair. My baby girl is gone."
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