Jade GoodyJade Goody died in her sleep in the early hours of this morning. She was 27.

The reality TV star, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in August last year, was died at 3:55am this morning at her home in Essex, surrounded by her husband Jack Tweed, mum Jackiey Budden and close friend Kevin Adams. She had been in a coma-like state for the previous 48 hours.

Her publicist Max Clifford confirmed the death early this morning then explained: “[Jade was] so brave. She died as she lived in the public eye. It was her way of handling it. [But] family and friends would like some privacy - at last.

“Jackiey is obviously as you would expect a mom to be at the loss of her daughter. We’ve all known it was coming but she’s devastated. [She told me] ‘My beautiful daughter has gone to sleep. She is at peace.’

“Jack was there at the end. He has been brilliant, absolutely fantastic. Everytime she woke up Jack was there. He stroked her hair, put her toothpaste on her toothbrush.

“For a 21-year-old to handle it the way he’s handled it does him tremendous credit.”

Jade’s body was removed from the house around 8am this morning. Jade had lived at the property in Upshire, Essex with her sons Bobby and Freddie for the last 18 months. The boys have been staying at their dad Jeff Brazier’s home for the last few weeks as Jade was adamant that they did not see her die.

A close family friend told the News of the World that the boys, aged five and four, had made handmade cards for Mother’s Day today but now the cards will remain unopened: “The boys’ dream had been to see their mum on Mother’s Day.

“They knew it would be the last big day they could spend with their mum as birthdays and Christmas are too far away.

“Luckily they have a wonderful dad in Jeff and grandma in Jackiey who can nurse them through this painful episode.”

Jade is said to have requested to be buried in her £3500 wedding dress, which she wore when she married Jack just a month ago, and the funeral which she helped to plan is expected to be a “celebration and reflection” of her life since she rose to fame in Big Brother in 2002.

Clifford added: “I think she’s going to be remembered as a young girl who has, and who will, save an awful lot of lives. She was a very, very brave girl.

“And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life - full on, with a lot of courage.

“Her legacy will be that a lot of women owe their lives to Jade Goody because of her public announcement and battle against cervical cancer. There are lots of young women all over Britain today who in the future will owe their lives to Jade’s public pronouncements on cervical cancer.

“People were touched by her story and by her courage. She has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world, from Australia to America and everywhere else.”