Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband Thomas Kingston died from a “traumatic head injury” and a gun was found near his body in an outbuilding of his parents’ Cotswolds home, an inquest heard.
Thomas Kingston, 45, was found dead in his family’s country mansion on Sunday night and a post-mortem revealed the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound, Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court heard today.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene after a family member made a 999 call. Police said Kingston’s death was not suspicious.
His widow Lady Windsor had paid tribute to her financier husband in a joint statement with her family, describing him as an “exceptional man who illuminated the lives of all who knew him”.
They described his death as “a huge shock to the whole family.”
Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband Thomas Kingston shot himself, inquest hears
The pair appear here at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in July 2019.
Kingston watched the races alongside Queen Camilla from the royal box at Ascot last June.
Buckingham Palace announced that Kingston, 45, died suddenly on February 25 at an address in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire.
Paramedics were called to the large detached house at around 6pm on Sunday.
The King and Queen sent their “deepest thoughts and prayers” to Lady Gabriella, known as Ella, and Mr Kingston’s parents and siblings.
A statement issued on behalf of Lady Gabriella Kingston, Mr Martin and Mrs Jill Kingston, Mrs Joanna Connolly and Mrs 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 illuminated the lives of all who knew him. His death has been a great shock to the entire family and we ask that you respect our privacy as we mourn his passing.
Lady Gabriella posted a personal photo she took of her husband, showing him smiling and dressed in a casual pink shirt as he stood near a body of water in the sunshine.
The couple married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in 2019 with Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, among the guests.
Lady Gabriella Kingston and Thomas Kingston at Nicky Haslam’s birthday party at the Polish Hearth Club, London in November 2019
Kingston, pictured here on his wedding day to Lady Gabriella Windsor, lived an extraordinary life.
Lady Gabriella and Thomas Kingston had official photographs taken on their wedding day; here, with the late Queen and Prince Philip seated to the right of her.
Buckingham Palace announced the death of Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband Thomas Kingston (pictured together in 2019).
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The King and Queen have been informed of Thomas’ death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in mourning a much-loved member of the family. “.
“In particular, Their Majesties send their deepest thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and the entire Kingston family.”
Lady Gabriella is the king’s second cousin. They are both great-grandsons of King George V.
Mr Kingston was a director of Devonport Capital, which specializes in providing finance to companies in “frontier economies”.
The Bristol University graduate had also served in Baghdad, Iraq, working to secure the release of hostages after joining the Foreign Office’s Diplomatic Missions Unit.
He was a close friend of Pippa Matthews, the sister of the Princess of Wales, and the pair are said to have dated in 2011.
Lady Gabriella, who has worked as an art and travel director for a brand company, is a writer and contributing editor.
She is also a singer-songwriter and released two bossa nova-inspired songs in 2020 to raise money for charities.
Although Lady Gabriella is not a working member of the royal family, she and Mr. Kingston’s family have the support of the royal house.
Friends of Thomas Kingston were left shocked by his death as they told how he and Lady Gabriella were “happily married to the end”.
They were last photographed together in public on Valentine’s Day at an event celebrating the works of William Shakespeare.
Lady Gabriella Windsor and Tom Kingston attended the Jerudong Trophy polo match at the Cirencester Park Polo Club in June 2016.
Kingston pictured alongside Lady Gabriella Windsor at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022
Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston appear at Royal Ascot in June last year.
The couple is seen here at the Jungle Part at Annabel’s in London in September 2018.
Their wedding was in Windsor on May 18, 2019.
No plans for the funeral have been released at this time.
Lady Gabriella’s parents, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, attended a service for the late King Constantine II of Greece on Tuesday at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Constantine was Lady Gabriella’s best man and attended her wedding.
The Prince of Wales, also the former Greek monarch’s godson, withdrew from attendance at the last minute, but his absence was due to a personal matter and was understood to be unrelated to the news of Kingston’s death.
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