Ladies of London star Annabelle Nielson died last Thursday after suffering a heart attack her family revealed on Tuesday.
‘Very sadly, we have been informed today that my sister Annabelle, died as a result of a heart attack at home last Thursday,’ said the reality star’s sister Millie in a statement on behalf of the family.
‘It has come as a complete shock, as she had many plans having recently returned from Spain. My parents and I are devastated and shocked by this news. We would ask the media to respect the privacy of our family and Annabelle’s close friends during this very difficult time.’
She then added: ‘We will not be making any further statement at this time. We thank you for your consideration.’
That statement was released shortly after Radar Online reported that Neilson had suffered a stroke.
‘The cause of death was cerebrovascular accident,’ a Westminster Coroner Court spokesperson allegedly told the outlet.
Neilson is survived by her parents Max and Elizabeth Neilson, and a sister, Millie. Mr. Neilson is a property developer and his wife is an interior designer.
Tragic passing: ‘The cause of death was cerebrovascular accident,’ a Westminster Coroner Court spokesperson reportedly said of Annabelle Neilson’s death (above with friend Marissa Hermer in 2014 and right in 2015)
False hope: On Saturday, a post appeared on Neilson’s Instagram page (above), leading some to believe that the reality star might still be alive
Heartbreak: Kate Moss paid tribute to her friend on Tuesday by sharing a photo of the pair from when they first met in the 90s with a broken heart emoji (above)
Tragedy: Authorities confirmed to DailyMail.com on Monday that the children’s author and muse to Alexander McQueen was found dead last Thursday (Neilson above with her sister, grandmother and mother)
When contacted by DailyMail.com to confirm Radar’s claim, an employee at the WCC initially stated: ‘It’s absolutely not come from our office and we’re aware of the story.’
The employee who gave the statement to Radar then said to contact the Royal Burroughs of Kennsington and Chelsea, whose spokesperson would not confirm the cause of death or comment.
That same spokesperson instead directed DailyMail.com to look at a statement from Neilson’s family.
At the same time, an Instagram post shared two days after Neilson was found dead in her London home led some to believe the death might all be a hoax.
Marissa Hermer, a close friend who starred alongside Neilson on Ladies, was one of the first to comment on the photo, writing: ‘Annabelle is that you? xxxx’
That comment went from hopeful to heartbreaking when it was revealed the post was not shared by Neilson on Saturday, but either timed before her death or put up by a friend.
Authorities confirmed to DailyMail.com on Monday that the children’s author and muse to the likes of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano had been found dead in her London home at 10:20pm last Thursday.
Kate Moss, one of Neilson’s closest confidantes, also confirmed the death by sharing a photo of the pair on her social media accounts Tuesday, writing no words and instead posting an emoji of a broken heart.
Designer Jack French also seemed thrilled to see the misleading post on Saturday, writing ‘Tinks?’ with two heart emojis.
‘Tinks’ is a reference to Neilson’s nickname Tinkerbell, which was given to her by her late friend McQueen.
Her death comes almost a decade after he took his own life in 2010, and Neilson opened about their relationship and that loss in a 2015 interview with The Daily Mail.
‘He was my brother, my boyfriend, my soul mate. Most of the time people called me Mrs. McQueen. Quite often we were sharing a bed,’ said Neilson.
‘The truth is, I was happier with Lee than with anyone else. He asked me to marry him towards the end and I said no. I wish now that I had said yes.’
Neilson looked to be in good spirits just days before her death as she attended the wedding of photographer Kimi Hammerstroem and Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill.
In what is believed to be the last photo of Neilson, she is seen at the reception striking a pose with the bride, Moss and British socialite Poppy Delevingne.
That photo was not posted by Neilson on her own Instagram page, and a few of the darker images she had shared over the past few months had reportedly been scrubbed from her account over the weekend.
She was not married at the time of her death, but had been wed 24 years prior when she eloped to the Dominican Republic with financier and banking heir Nathaniel Rothschild.
That marriage lasted for just three years, and Neilson reportedly received a sizable sum to drop the Rotschild name and remain quiet about the details of her life with her ex-husband.