The Royal Family was shaken by the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022. The country had to come to terms with the loss of a royal who had spent 70 years on the throne, but the royals had to grieve the loss of a mother and grandmother.
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The family dealt with another loss of life in 2024, and one that was unexpected. Buckingham Palace announced the death of Thomas Kingston on Tuesday 27 February.
Kingston was the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, who moved back in with her parents after he died at the young age of 45.
Kingston was found dead at an address in Gloucestershire on Sunday evening (25 February). His funeral took place on March 12, a very significant date for the couple. Little is known about his death, but a new update has revealed his cause of death.
Here’s everything you need to know about her late husband, and what people close to Kingston have said about his passing.
Cause of death
An inquest was opened on Friday 1 March and according to The Express, it was revealed that he died from a 'traumatic head wound'. In a shocking turn of events, the publication said that a gun was found hear his body 'in an outbuilding at his parents' home in the Cotswolds. Senior coroner Katy Skerret said at the inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court, as quoted by Daily Mail:
He [Kingston's father] found Mr Kingston deceased with a catastrophic head injury. A gun was present at the scene. Emergency services were called. Police are satisfied the death is not suspicious.
Police have not treated his passing as suspicious. When the death was first announced Lady Gabriella, who is 56th in line to the British throne, said her husband’s death came as a ‘great shock to the whole family’.
Who was Thomas Kingston?
Kingston was a devout christian, and this tied into much of his life’s work. Known as Tom, he studied economic history at Bristol University before working as a hostage negotiator in Baghdad. During his time in this tense environment, he is said to have survived a suicide bombing that killed 22 people in 2024.
After 3 years spent in Baghdad, Kingston returned to the UK and started working for the global asset management firm Schroders. He later became a director of Devonport Capital, a company that provides finance to companies operating in ‘emerging economies’. Kingston is said to have dated Pippa Middleton, who leads a quite life compared to her sister, in 2011 and appears to have remained close to the family. He and Lady Gabriella attended her wedding to James Mathews in 2017 and Pippa, Carole and Michael Middleton came to his and Lady Gabriella’s in 2019.
Tributes to Thomas Kingston
Lady Gabriella has said that her husband was ‘an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him’. The Rev Canon Andrew White, with whom Kingston worked in Baghdad, said in 2019:
Tom is one of the most remarkable people I have ever worked with and I would have him back at my side tomorrow, if he would come.
Indeed, this is a sentiment that has been echoed by many since Kingston’s passing. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said:
The King and The Queen have been informed of Thomas’s death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family.
Mr Kingston is survived by his parents Mr Martin and Mrs Jill Kingston, and his sisters Mrs Joanna Connolly and Mrs Emma Murray.
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Sources used:
The Telegraph: Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband found dead aged 45
People: All About Lady Gabriella, the Widow of Thomas Kingston and Royal Family Member
Daily Mail: Lady Gabriella Windsor's husband Thomas Kingston, 45, died from a 'traumatic head wound' and a gun was found near his body in outbuilding of his parents' Cotswolds home, inquest hears
Express: Thomas Kingston found with 'traumatic head wound' with gun discovered near body
