At the inquest at Chelmsford's County Hall, coroner’s officer Matthew Austin said the teenager was found unresponsive in private supported accommodation. The hearing was told that she had taken an overdose, and despite an ambulance being called, paramedics were unable to revive her, with death confirmed at the scene. Essex Police said they are carrying out an investigation.
The inquest heard that a post-mortem examination was conducted at Great Ormond Street Hospital by Dr Liina Palm.
Senior coroner Lincoln Brookes formally suspended the coronial investigation, stating that the police inquiry must take priority. He noted that further details about Princess’s final days would remain private for the time being, and that the coroner’s full report is yet to be published.
The family has long maintained that they were victims of sustained online abuse. Sophie-May Dickson, Princess’s mother, has said that more than 10,000 posts about them appeared on the forum Tattle Life. According to multiple reports, after she reduced her own social media coverage of Princess, the harassment shifted directly to her daughter, with users targeting the girl’s lifestyle and appearance from the age of 14. According to Sophie, the online abuse left her daughter feeling trapped and unable to escape the constant online commentary.
In a move that drew widespread backlash, Sophie posted photographs from beside Princess’s coffin on March 26. She faced intense criticism online, but defended the posts by saying she wanted to share a special moment rather than seek attention. She wrote on social media, 'I will see you in heaven baby girl. Mummy loves you.'
A cross-party group of 20 MPs sent a letter to Ofcom directly blaming Tattle Life as a contributing factor to Princess’s death. Labour MP Jess Asato wrote that 'Princess had been the subject of sustained and escalating online harassment, stalking and abuse by the adult users of Tattle.Life.'
Princess had been the subject of sustained and escalating online harassment, stalking and abuse by the adult users of Tattle.Life.
The letter detailed the methods used by trolls to target Princess, including persistent derogatory remarks about her body, mental health, and family background. It said users created fake accounts to monitor her TikTok, attend her live streams, screen-record her content, and then republish it on Tattle Life for the purpose of ridicule, which the MPs argued created an inescapable cycle of abuse for a vulnerable teenager.
The abuse did not end with Princess’s death: multiple reports indicate that trolls have continued to harass Sophie, questioning the sincerity of her grief, commenting on her fitness as a mother, suggesting she is exploiting the tragedy for attention, and even speculating about the contents of Princess’s suicide note.
According to research, a Tattle Life thread dedicated to Sophie May Dickson runs to 49 pages and contains hundreds of comments. These comments oscillate between feigned concern, disgust, crude sexualised descriptions, and hate-filled rants.
According to research, Sophie-May Dickson, 32, first came to public attention when she appeared on the reality show ‘Blinging Up Baby’.
According to research, Tattle Life, launched in 2017, is a forum that positions itself as part of internet snark culture, holding public figures and influencers to account.
A VictimFocus report from July collected testimony from 150 individuals who claimed to be victims of Tattle Life. Over 90% of those surveyed described being repeatedly stalked and harassed through the platform, and many reported severe psychological effects such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.