The daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent faces her fifth wedding anniversary today without her beloved husband by her side.
Instead of waking up with her late husband Thomas Kingston in their flat in Notting Hill, west London, Lady Gabriella Windsor moved back in with her parents at Kensington Palace.
Today marks five years since Lady Gabriella, 43, who is 56th in line to the throne, emerged from St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in glorious sunshine on the arm of her financier husband .
But instead of exchanging wooden gifts, Ella, as she is known to family and friends, is mourning the man she dated for three years before he proposed to her on the island of Sark in the Channel Islands. Stain.
Thomas, a committed Christian and former Iraqi hostage negotiator, died in February.
Although less starry than the weddings of Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie, who also tied the knot at Windsor Castle, Lady Gabriella and Thomas’ nuptials had an equally dazzling array of guests, including a contingent of senior royals .
Both the late Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh watched her walk down the aisle in a custom-made dress by Italian couturier Luisa Beccaria and a delicate veil made from layers of white tulle and embroidered flowers.
Thomas Kingston kisses his new bride on the steps of St George’s Chapel on a gloriously sunny day with almost all the senior members of the royal family in attendance, May 2019.
Lady Gabriella Windsor married Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel at Winsor Castle in 2019
Prince Harry arrived with Lady Frederick Windsor but his wife Meghan Markle could not attend
And although William and Kate were unable to attend the occasion, Prince Harry arrived with actress Sophie Winkleman, who is married to Ella’s older brother, Lord Frederick Windsor, and gave a reading at the wedding.
In a touching tribute, she paired her dress with the Russian Fringe-style tiara worn by her grandmother, Princess Marina, and her mother, Princess Michael of Kent, on their wedding day.
And, in her bouquet of Juliet roses, lilies of the valley, white sweet peas and apricot, there was a creamy ivory ‘She’ rose by David Austin, as well as myrtle, a feature of royal bridal bouquets since Queen Victoria.
“I wanted to surprise my parents that day, so I worked closely with Luisa without any family members seeing the dress until my wedding day,” she told Hello! Magazine after the wedding.
But there was a technical problem while walking to the altar. ‘Suddenly I could feel my tiara starting to recede and in those few disconcerting moments I thought she would collapse with an almighty thud.
‘My little bridesmaids had accidentally gotten close to my 20 foot very sheer tulle veil. I slowed down until they got off, but then it happened again. Fortunately, my hairdresser had fixed the tiara in place and it held firm.’
She had nine bridesmaids and pages, including her nieces Maud, then five, and Isabella, three, and Eliza Goldsmith, the three-year-old daughter of environmentalist Ben Goldsmith, who was another guest.
It was a royal event: the Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Earl of Wessex, Princess Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice and her future husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were all on the guest list.
While Prince William and his wife Kate were unable to attend the wedding due to prior commitments, the Middleton family was present.
Both the Queen (above) and Prince Philip attended. Lady Gabriella was always one of Her Late Majesty’s favorites
Gabriella’s delicate veil was made with layers of white tulle and embroidered flowers.
Prince Michael of Kent, Isabella Windsor, Lady Frederick Windsor and Lord Frederick Windsor attend the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel on May 18, 2019.
The Middletons were present but unfortunately Prince William and Kate were unable to attend.
Lady Gabriella chatted with her maid of honor during this happy family photo.
The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and Princess Beatrice bid farewell to the happy couple.
Kate’s parents Carole and Michael were at the ceremony, Pippa Middleton, a close friend of the groom, arrived with her husband James Matthews, while her brother James appeared with his future wife Alizee Thevenet.
After the ceremony, former Tatler society photographer Hugo Burnand photographed the happy couple with their entourage of bridesmaids and pages.
A favorite of the royal family, he took the wedding photographs of the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the coronation photographs of Charles and Camilla.
Guests were then transported on vintage buses to Frogmore House for the reception, the same venue chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.
Hosted by the Queen’s party planner Lady Elizabeth Anson, 400 guests enjoyed three different wedding cakes: a fruit cake, a Victoria sponge cake and a lemon limoncello cake.
That night, Ella, a graduate of Brown University and Oxford, and Tom, a director at Devonport Capital, hosted a party for their London friends, including Hollywood actress and The Princess Diaries star Anne Hathaway.
During the evening reception, Sophie sang one of her sister-in-law’s favorite songs, Will You Love Me Tomorrow. “There were some tears, but I’m not sure if it was because they were moved or wanted me to stop,” she said later.
Thomas was found dead with a shotgun near his body in an outbuilding of his parents’ home in the Cotswolds. There were no suspicious circumstances.