Thomas Kingston, husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, died from a “traumatic head wound” and was found with a “gun next to his body”, an inquest has heard.
The exceptional financier and one-time hostage negotiator died suddenly at just 45 years old.
At an inquest opening into his death at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court, it was revealed that Kingston died in an outbuilding at his parent’s home in the Cotswolds from the head wound.
Gloucestershire Police previously said the death was not being treated as suspicious, Sky News reports.
Ambulance crews had been called to the scene just before 6.30pm.
Funeral plans have not yet been released.
In a statement from Lady Gabriella and Kingston’s family, they said his death had come as a “great shock.”
They described him as a “beloved husband, son and brother,” adding: “Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla extended their deepest condolences to Lady Gabriella Kingston and Mr. Kingston’s family in the days following the news.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson conveyed, “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. In particular, Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.”
Kingston married into the royal family in 2019 when he tied the knot with Lady Gabriella at a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
There was a lot more to the man than just his royal ties.
The University of Bristol graduate previously dated Pippa Middleton around the time of Kate and William’s wedding in 2011, and spent a period of time working in hostage negotiation and conflict resolution during the Iraq war.
In this role, Kingston was based in Baghdad, and according to The Times, he was a critical member of a team of diplomats who negotiated the release of hostages and adjudicated disputes between the Iraq’s warring ethnic, religious, and tribal leaders.
In 2004, he narrowly escaped a brush with death when a a suicide-bombing claimed the lives of 22 people at the only Anglican church in Iraq.
Reverend Canon Andrew White, who was known as the “Vicar of Baghdad” thanks to his ten years presiding over the Anglican church in Iraq and also survived the bombing, said previously that Kingston was an “an exceptional young man” who “makes things happen.”
The news of Thomas Kingston’s death comes at a tumultuous time for the royal family, with King Charles’ cancer battle and Kate Middleton’s whereabouts a subject of much speculation.
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King Charles releases statement after shock Royal family death
