Princess Michael of Kent has paid tribute to her beloved son-in-law Thomas Kingston, who died in February 2024 aged just 45.
An inquest previously found that Thomas, who married her daughter Lady Gabriella Kingston in 2019, was discovered in the bathroom of an outbuilding of his parents’ Cotswolds home on February 25. He had taken his own life with his father’s shotgun.
Describing the late member of the family as “so kind”, the 79-year-old told Majesty Magazine: “Tom was a lovely man, so kind and so thoughtful.”
Speaking just weeks shy of her 80th birthday next month, she told royal biographer Ingrid Seward that they would all spend time together, including with her son Lord Frederick Windsor and his wife, Sophie Winkleman.
She said: “We often had them here with Freddie and Sophie and the girls for Sunday lunch. We never had an inkling anything was wrong.”
Describing how the family were shocked by his sudden death, the princess also shared that she is still unsure how to help her daughter navigate the tragic loss of her husband.
Lady Gabriella, known to her friends and family as Ella, joined Prince and Princess Michael at Princess Kate’s Together At Christmas carol service in London on December 6.
Insiders previously told the Daily Mail’s diary editor Richard Eden that Ella had moved back in with her parents, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, at Kensington Palace.
The insiders said: “They wanted Ella to be with them and she didn’t want to be alone in the home she shared with Tom.”
Following his death, Buckingham Palace released a statement which announced that the King and Queen had been informed of Thomas’s passing.
It read that they wished to “join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family”, as well as sending their “most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.”
Thomas’s funeral took place on March 12 – a date which held significance for both Thomas and Lady Gabiella. On March 12, 2015, the pair made their first public appearance at the Cheltenham Festival.
Prince William joined Lady Gabriella Windsor, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra among the mourners at the funeral of Mr Kingston at the Chapel Royal for the funeral. Mr Kingston’s family also attended.
