by Mick the Ram

The son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Thomas Kingston, has been found dead at his parents home, with an inquest stating a “traumatic head wound” being the cause.

A gun was discovered close to the 45-year-old’s body in an outbuilding at the £3m mansion in a quiet Gloucestershire village, but his death is not being treated as suspicious, with police satisfied that nobody else was involved.

Mr Kingston had married Lady Gabriella – who is part of the Royal Family but not a working royal – in 2019, in a ceremony at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel, attended by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla sent their “most heartfelt thoughts and prayers” to his family.

Lady Gabriella’s father, Prince Michael, now aged 81, is a grandson of King George V and the late Queen’s first cousin.

Both families are being supported by the royal household.

Inquest reveals lead up to tragic discovery

At an inquest, Senior Coroner Katy Skerrett said that in the lead up to Mr Kingston’s death, he had visited his parents, Martin and Jill Kingston, at their house where they had resided since 1996, from his own home in London, and had taken lunch with them.

Shortly afterwards his father went out to walk their dogs. When they returned, Mr Kingston could not be located and after approximately 30 minutes his mother went to look for him.

Ms Skerrett then said, his father felt it necessary to force entry into a locked outbuilding, since there was no reply from Mr Kingston. It was in there that his father discovered his son “deceased with a catastrophic head injury” with a gun “present at the scene”.

A post mortem has been undertaken by Dr Jones, who is a consultant histopathologist, and he had confirmed a provisional cause of death as a “traumatic wound to head.” The inquest was then adjourned by Ms Skerrett to a date to be fixed.

Seemingly happy

Lady Gabriella and Mr Kingston were last seen together in public on Valentine’s Day, and were said to be very happy and did not appear to have any relationship, or money troubles. One close friend did remark that Mr Kingston always put others first, which might have affected his own mental health.

Hostage negotiator

Mr Kingston was a financier and director at a private equity firm. The Bristol University graduate had previously worked with the diplomatic missions unit of the Foreign Office in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was involved in securing the release of hostages.

He was a close friend of Pippa Matthews – formerly Middleton – the sister of Kate, the Princess of Wales. Indeed, they had dated for a short while back in 2011.

Glowing tribute

The Reverend Canon Andrew White, who ran the only Anglican church in Iraq and worked with Mr Kingston when they were together in Baghdad, spoke in glowing terms when remembering his friend and colleague: “He was my best ever intern; I worked with Tom in all sorts of dangerous places, mostly in the middle of war zones.”

He added that nothing was ever too dangerous for him and he was always willing and prepared to take risks, although he said Mr Kingston was a “person of great faith”.

“Exceptional man”

Both Lady Gabriella and King Charles III are great-grandchildren of King George V. She has worked as an arts and travel director for a brand company, and is an established writer.

In a joint statement issued by Buckingham Palace shortly after Mr Kingston’s death, Lady Gabriella, 42, described her husband as an “exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him”.

The brief statement also said: “It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother. 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.”

Just last week Prince and Princess Michael attended a Windsor service for the late King Constantine II of Greece – who, as Lady Gabriella’s godfather, had attended her wedding to Mr Kingston.