Royal family member Thomas Kingston—who died last Sunday, February 25, at age 45—died from a “traumatic head wound” caused by suicide, an inquest into his death revealed.
Kingston, a financier, was the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, who he married in 2019. Lady Gabriella, who often goes by Ella, is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and is currently 56th in line to the British throne; she is the second cousin of King Charles. The Telegraph reported that the death was self-inflicted and occurred at Kingston’s parents’ home in the Cotswolds, shortly after Kingston had lunch with them and before his father took their dogs on a walk.
Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, said that, upon his father’s return home, Kingston was not in the house. According to Sky News correspondent Dan Whitehead, Kingston “was found in a locked outbuilding with a catastrophic head injury—a gun was found at the scene.”
A statement released on February 27, two days after Kingston’s death, on behalf of Lady Gabriella Kingston, Martin and Jill Kingston, Joanna Connolly, and Emma Murray said, “It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son, and brother. Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. His death has come as a great shock to the whole family, and we ask you to respect our privacy as we mourn his passing.”
The King and Queen Camilla sent their “heartfelt thoughts” to Lady Gabriella, and a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “The King and The Queen have been informed of Thomas’ death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family. In particular, Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.”
Kingston was a director at Davenport Capital and a former hostage negotiator in Iraq; the Kingstons were married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle just one year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and, later in 2018, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were married at the same location. Harry made a surprise appearance at Lady Gabriella’s wedding on May 18, 2019, just 12 days after his son Prince Archie was born that May 6. Other guests in attendance were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip and Pippa Middleton Matthews, who once dated Kingston.
Lady Gabriella is not a working member of the royal family and works as a freelance journalist; that said, the Kingstons were frequent fixtures at royal family events following their marriage nearly five years ago. They did not share any children, and were last seen less than two weeks before his death at a Celebration of Shakespeare event alongside Queen Camilla on Valentine’s Day. At the event, the Kingstons “beamed as they posed for cameras with their arms lovingly wrapped around each other,” The Sun reported. The outlet added they “had smiles from ear-to-ear” and friends who saw the two last week said they seemed “happy and chatty.”
“They seemed happy and positive as ever,” a friend told MailOnline. “Ella was particularly chatty.” Another friend added “It’s utterly shocking. None of us saw it coming. I cannot understand it.”
Before marrying into the royal family, Kingston survived a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed 22, The Sun reported. His “job was to mediate conflicts in Iraq and was said to have had countless brushes with death,” the outlet wrote.
