Financier and former hostage negotiator, Thomas Kingston, 45, was found dead inside his parents’ £3million mansion in Gloucestershire on February 25, sending shockwaves through the Royal Family and leaving friends of Thomas in disbelief at his passing.
Close friends were left reeling from his death, stating he and his wife, Lady Gabriella, had “remained childless but were happily married until the end”. The couple were at an event last week at the National Gallery with a friend saying they “seemed happy and positive as ever.”
The couple, who wed at Windsor Castle in 2019, were last pictured in public together on Valentine’s Day at an event to celebrate William Shakespeare in London, reports the Daily Mail.
A statement about his passing, made on behalf of his wife, parents and sisters, said: “It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother.”
It continued: “Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. 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.”
Mr Kingston worked in the Diplomatic Missions Unit of the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office, and for almost three years worked in Baghdad as a project officer for the Iraqi Institute of Peace.
During this time his job was to mediate conflicts in Iraq, including helping to negotiate the release of hostages.
He then went on to work as Managing Director at Voltan Capital Management – a role with a salary estimated to be around £150,000.
Although Lady Gabriella is not a working member of the Royal Family, she and Mr Kingston’s family are being supported by the Royal Household through this hard time.
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.
“In particular, Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.”
Lady Gabriella and Tom 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.
A lesser-known fact about Lady Gabriella is that she is also a singer-songwriter and released two bossa-nova inspired tracks in 2020 to raise money for charity.
After dating Lady Gabriella for several years, he proposed on the Channel island of Sark in August 2018.
An inquest into the death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter Lady Gabriella Kingston, will be opened at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court at 2pm on Friday.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said in a statement after his passing, that his death is “not being treated as suspicious”.
