Santa Montefiore says her sister, a former model and TV personality, died of natural causes – a perforated ulcer

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson had been making plans for the future when she died peacefully in her sleep, her family has said.

In the first statement issued since the socialite’s sudden death last week, her family thanked the “many people” who had contacted them, adding that it had been “a source of great comfort to know how loved she was by so many people”.

The statement said the former “It girl”, 45, died peacefully in her sleep due to a perforated ulcer and peritonitis.

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It continued: “Those that knew and were close to Tara knew that there was no retreat to a ‘dark place’ as some have disappointingly sought to suggest. In the last few weeks Tara was happy, positive and making plans for when she recovered her health.

“As usual she had been busy with the friends and family she loved, and who loved her in return. She was in communication with her family and others of whom she was fond over her final weekend and had spent a lot of her time recording music and playing the piano in her apartment – a sure sign that she was happy and feeling good.”

The family confirmed her funeral would be held on 27 February.

They said: “This will be a private moment for family and close friends to grieve and we would ask that our privacy at this time is respected. We will miss Tara very much and will never forget the joy, love and humour she brought to our lives.”

The socialite, former model and TV personality was found dead in her London flat last week. News of her death brought a flood of tributes, including from the Prince of Wales, a close family friend, who said he was “deeply saddened”.

The author Santa Montefiore posted a series of tweets earlier on Wednesday thanking people for their support in recent days following her sister’s death, but added that she wanted to “clarify” a few things and referenced a coroner’s report.

She wrote: “I’ve been so touched by the warm response to Tara’s death. Thank you from the whole family. But I’d like to clarify a couple of points.

“Today the coroner’s report states that Tara died of natural causes – a perforated ulcer. She did not have a brain tumour.”

In November Palmer-Tomkinson said: “I went to the doctors to talk about my latest blood tests when I got back from skiing in January. I said: ‘What does this mean? Can you translate it?’ And the doctor said: ‘As I suspected, you have a brain tumour.’”

She added: “I got terribly frightened. I started thinking: ‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die. I’ve only got a couple of weeks to live.’ Stuff like that.”

She had been taking medication, she said, adding: “Thankfully, it seems to have gone away for now.”