The author died on Sunday after a fall, according to a statement from literary agency Curtis Brown, who represented her.

“Mom was the shining light in all of our lives,” her children, Felix and Emily, wrote. “Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.”

Cooper garnered scores of fans with her “Rutshire Chronicles,” beginning with “Riders” in 1985, a humorous and racy series that portrayed the sex lives, scandals, and excesses of the well-off, horse-riding upper and middle classes in 1980s England.

The 11 books in the series sold millions of copies in the United Kingdom alone.

One of the books, “Rivals,” was turned into a hit Disney+ TV series last year, starring David Tennant and Alex Hassell.

Britain’s prime minister and royals were among those paying tribute to the author on Monday.

Queen Camilla, the wife of King Charles III, called Cooper “a legend” and recalled seeing the author recently at a book festival.

“I join my husband, the King, in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family. And may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs,” Camilla wrote.

Cooper has said that the fictional Rupert Campbell-Black, the dashing hero at the heart of many of her stories, was partly inspired by Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Cooper “a literary force whose wit, warmth and wisdom shaped British culture for over half a century and brought joy to millions,” according to his office.

Cooper was awarded an OBE, or Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to literature in 2004. Her many fans included former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said the books offered “escapism.”

Bill Scott-Kerr, her publisher, praised Cooper for her “wicked social commentary and deft, lacerating characterization.”

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Bill Scott-Kerr, her publisher, praised Cooper for her “wicked social commentary and deft, lacerating characterization.”

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“She dissected the behavior, bad mostly, of the English upper middle classes with the sharpest of scalpels,” he said.

Her agent, Felicity Blunt, said Cooper “defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over 50 years ago.”

“Emotionally intelligent, fantastically generous, sharply observant and utter fun, Jilly Cooper will be deeply missed by all at Curtis Brown and on the set of ‘Rivals,’” she added.

Born in 1937 in Essex, near London, Cooper cut her teeth in journalism at a local newspaper in Brentford, covering everything from parties to soccer.