We have an update on the sad and unexpected death of Annabelle Neilson.
As previously reported, the former Ladies of London cast member was found dead last Thursday, with very few details available at the time this sad news broke.
Now, however, Westminster Coroner Court spokesperson Susan Lord has told Radar Online that the former model and British aristocrat died of a “cerebrovascular accident.”
In layman’s terms, this means Neilson passed away from a stroke.
Neilson’s body was discoverd in her London home around 10:20 p.m. on July 12.
Police never treated her death as suspicious, confirming at the outset of their announcement that no foul play was suspected.
The former Bravo personality was best known to television viewers for her role on Seasons 1 and 2 of the aforementioned program.
Neilson also worked as a model for years and was very close friends with fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide at age 40 in February of 2015.
She said in the past, shortly after McQueen killed himself, that he once proposed and that she wished she had accepted.
“The truth is I was happier with Lee [Alexander McQueen] than with anyone else,” she told The Daily Mail in 2010, adding at the time:
“He asked me to marry him towards the end and I said no. I wish now that I had said yes.”
In more recent years, she worked as a children’s author, writing a series of books titled The Me Me Me’s, which were inspired by her struggles with dyslexia.
After being assaulted at the age of 16 in Perth, Australia, Neilson fell into a dark depression and started using drugs.
She talked candidly over the years about this period of her life as well.
Speaking to The Daily Mail in this same interview from 2015, she said:
“I fell into a serious depression and became a heroin addict because it provided an escape bubble and was the only way I could cope.
“In a way, heroin saved me, because otherwise I would have killed myself.”
In Neilson’s Bravo bio from her time on Ladies of London, she described herself as a “fixture in the international party circuit” and says she counted Richard Branson, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss as close pals.
“Kate is my best mate and I love her like a sister,” Neilson said back in the day.
“Yes, she’s an icon but to me she’s just Kate. We fight over stupid things, then we kiss and make up. We share clothes, we share everything and her fame has never been an issue.”
\
Ladies of London co-star Caroline Fleming remembered Annabelle on Monday night after news of her death went viral.
“My sweet Tinky, no words can express how devastated I feel at loosing you. Sweet delicate soul, you will be sorely missed,” Fleming said in an Instagram post, concluding:
“It’s impossible to comprehend that you are no longer here – we spoke on Wednesday and we planned lunch together next week and instead it’s the day of your funeral.
“I loved you from the moment I met you, such a special friendship you and I shared which I am so grateful for.”
Neilson was married to banker Nathaniel Rothschild from 1994 to 1997 and is survived by her parents, Max and Elizabeth, and her sister, Millie.
May she rest in peace.
