Hans Kristian Rausing, one of the heirs to the multibillion-pound Tetra Pak packaging dynasty, has been charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of the body of his wife, Eva.

Her remains were discovered in a bedroom at the couple's Chelsea home after her husband was stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs on Monday last week.

Rausing, 49, heir to a £5.4bn fortune from his Swedish father's business, will appear at West London magistrates court on Wednesday.

The family of his American wife meanwhile paid tribute to Mrs Rausing, whose death is being treated by police as unexplained, and said that she had returned to London to try to persuade her husband to join her for drug treatment in the US.

Her father, the former Pepsi executive Tom Kemeny, said on Tuesday that helping others was a "defining endeavour" in her life, while her family also announced in a joint statement that they would launch a foundation to help drug addicts.

"Eva and Hans Kristian adored each other and their four beautiful children. When not in London they would have family holidays with their cousins and extended family, without any glitz or glamour," he said.

"Eva and Hans Kristian were a devoted and loving couple for the 21 years they spent together. They benefited thousands of lives through their personal involvement and philanthropic activities. They bravely battled their demons and supported each other and Eva will be a devastating loss to our beloved 'son' Hans Kristian, whom we love unconditionally with all our hearts."

He also said: "At the time of her death her overriding concern was for the safety of her beloved husband, for whom she interrupted her own treatment to return to London in an attempt to take him back with her to California, but tragically to no avail."

The Kemeny family said in its joint statement: "Eva would have wanted the memory of her life to be used to benefit others facing similar addiction challenges in their lives. The family hopes this tribute will be used to draw attention to the tragedy of drug addiction and to generate awareness and financial support for this cause in the future. In due course they will launch a foundation."

The couple, who have four teenage children, met in the 1980s when they were both being treated at a US drug rehabilitation centre, but have struggled for many years with addiction to hard drugs, despite being prominent benefactors of a number of anti-drugs charities.

They narrowly escaped prison in 2008 after heroin and £2,000 worth of crack cocaine were found at their home. Mrs Rausing had been arrested after trying to carry several wraps of cocaine into a reception at the American embassy in Grosvenor Square. As part of their caution, they were required to attend a four-month drugs rehabilitation programme.

A postmortem last week failed to establish a formal cause of Eva Rausing's death. An inquest into her death opened at Westminster coroner's court on Friday.

• The picture caption on this article was amended on 18 July 2012. The original said the photograph was taken this June, when it was taken in June 2003.