Geri Halliwell mourns as older brother Max dies at 54

British singer and songwriter Geri Halliwell is mourning the sudden death of her brother who died in intensive care after suddenly collapsing in his home in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, last week.

According to People magazine, Geri's representative said in a statement, "As you can imagine this is a difficult time and we would ask that you respect the family's privacy at this time."

Max, a former communications manager for Mitsubishi Electric Living Environmental Systems UK, was taken to Watford General Hospital after being found at his home.

"His death is being treated as non-suspicious and will be referred to the coroner," a Hertfordshire Constabulary spokeswoman told the outlet.

Geri was in the Middle East with her husband, Formula One team principal Christian Horner, as he prepared for the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend when she learned the news of her brother's condition.

In 2010, Max appeared on Piers Morgan's Life Stories and looked back on their earlier years, saying his sister "doted heavily on her father." He said, "Maybe because of the attention that my father gave her as regards to her potential. He obviously saw something early on, so I'd call her a bit of a daddy's girl, definitely."

Their father, Lawrence, died after a heart attack in 1993.

The former pop star opened up in the BBC documentary 'Geri's 1990s: My Drive to Freedom' about how that devastating loss, three years before 'Wannabe' propelled the Spice Girls to stardom, sparked her desire to succeed.

"I was just in my own little zone, what really threw me was in the November period [when] my father died. I was almost paralyzed by grief, I didn't have the right sort of tools to process it," Geri said then.

As per People magazine, she said, "I have this theory, I don't know if it's true, but I think success comes from three things. One is preparation, one is opportunity and one is need. I think my father's death gave me the need, that death energy."

( With inputs from ANI )