Revealed: Lady Gabriella Windsor and her husband Thomas Kingston were ‘happy and chatty’ at National Gallery event just days before his shock death aged 45 – as police say ‘there are no suspicious circumstances’

Lady Gabriella Windsor and her husband Thomas Kingston were ‘happy and chatty’ at a National Gallery event just days before his shock death aged 45, close friends have revealed. 

The sudden death of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s son-in-law has left the Royal Family and friends in a state of deep shock.

The financier and former hostage negotiator was found dead at an address in Gloucestershire on Sunday evening, with emergency services called to the scene shortly after 6pm.

An inquest will be held but there are no suspicious circumstances and no other parties involved. Mr Kingston is survived by his father Martin Kingston KC, his mother Jill Mary Kingston, and his sisters, Joanna Connolly and Emma Murray. 

Lady Gabriella, 42, who is 56th in line to the throne, and Mr Kingston were married for nearly five years, having tied the knot at St George’s Chapel at Windsor in May 2019.

One friend who spoke to the couple at a party last Wednesday at the National Gallery in London said: ‘They seemed happy and positive as ever. Ella was particularly chatty.’ 

Another close friend, who attended the couple’s stunning wedding, added: ‘It’s utterly shocking. None of us saw it coming. I cannot understand it.’

Gloucestershire Constabulary said it was called by the ambulance service about the death of Mr Kingston at 6.25pm on Sunday. They added: ‘The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.’

Mr Kingston and Lady Gabriella were last pictured together on Valentine’s Day at an event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio attended by Queen Camilla.

Although Lady Gabriella is not a working member of the Royal Family, Buckingham Palace said it was supporting Mr Kingston’s devastated family.

It last night stepped in to announce the news on their behalf and released two photographs that Lady Gabriella and her husband’s relatives were keen to share in tribute to the man they described as being ‘exceptional’ and someone who ‘lit up the lives of all that knew him’.

In a statement, a spokesman for Their Majesties 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’.

A second statement released by the Palace on behalf of Lady Gabriella, Thomas’s parents and his sisters, read: ‘It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother.

‘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.’

Lady Gabriella – known as Ella to her friends – and Mr Kingston’s wedding in 2019 was attended by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as other senior royals. 

She wore a gown by Italian designer Lucia Beccaria with her grandmother’s tiara, the Kent City of London tiara. It was also worn by her mother, Princess Michael, on her wedding day, and has been in their family since 1934.

Her father, Prince Michael, is the late Queen’s first cousin and the son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary.

The prince and princess, who are non-working royals, bravely appeared at yesterday’s memorial service at St George’s Chapel for King Constantine of Greece, despite the unfolding tragedy.

It would have been a particularly distressing experience for them given that it was the scene happiness when their daughter and Mr Kingston married there four years earlier. It is understood the Prince of Wales’s absence on a personal matter was not connected to the news of Mr Kingston’s death.

Constantine was Lady Gabriella’s godfather and attended her wedding.  

Mr Kingston married into the Royal Family after a summer proposal on the island of Sark almost six years ago.

It’s understood that Lady Gabriella was always a favourite of the late Queen’s and the monarch had agreed to attend the couple’s wedding ‘at once’. 

Their wedding at the 15th-century venue came less than a year after the star-studded nuptials of Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018 and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October the same year.

Among the guests at the service were the Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, designer Nicky Haslam and the family of the Princess of Wales, her parents Carole and Michael Middleton and siblings Pippa and James, who were joined by their partners. 

The reception was held at Frogmore House, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  staged their wedding dinner.

Mr Kingston’s career was broadly focused on finance, with a range of credentials including his most recent position as a director of Devonport Capital, which specialises in providing finance for companies in ‘frontier economies’.

But the Bristol University graduate also spent time in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was working to procure the release of hostages after joining the Diplomatic Missions Unit of the Foreign Office. 

He had countless narrow escapes in three action-packed years in the Iraqi capital, including escaping a suicide-bombing that claimed 22 lives. 

In 2006, Mr Kingston joined Schroder’s Asset Management in London before joining Voltan Capital Management in 2012.

Five years later, Mr Kingston – who had a bachelor’s degree in economic history – became a director of Devonport Capital Ltd.

Mr Kingston was a close friend of Pippa Middleton, the Princess of Wales’ sister, who he was often seen out and about with.

In fact, the pair were said to have struck up a romance in 2011, following the end of Ms Middleton’s relationship with cricketer Alex Loudon – but he denied they ever dated.

After the rumoured romance fizzled out, he remained a regular part of Ms Middleton’s social set and the pair remained friends.

A friend of Ms Middleton previously told Daily Mail’s Richard Kay: ‘Tom is utterly charming, polite and very popular with the ladies. In fact, he is just the kind of guy you would want to introduce to your mother.’

Mr Kingston was always someone who flitted discreetly in and around royal circles. He also dated Natalie Hicks-Lobbecke, an old flame of Prince William whom he dated while working in Iraq.

He and Ms Hicks-Lobbecke, who is now married to baronet’s son Ed Milbank, met when both were at Bristol University.

One close friend previously told the Mail: ‘Tom’s great achievement is that none of his old girlfriends have anything but nice things to say about him. Even when it’s all over, they still like him.

‘In old-fashioned terms, he is a gentleman, just the kind of guy you want to introduce to your mother.’

A male friend also said: ‘He’s one of those guys who can be quite enigmatic and doesn’t tell you what he is thinking. He’s careful. Perhaps it’s a legacy from the work he was doing in Iraq.’

His family’s background includes a former ambassador to Denmark and a great-grandfather who was thrice mayor of Walsall in the West Midlands. 

Mr Kingston was born in Evesham, Worcestershire. His QC father, a self-made man educated at a secondary modern school, has been a hugely successful barrister specialising in planning law.

Lady Gabriella, who has worked as an arts and travel director for a brand company, is a writer and contributing editor.

She is also a singer-songwriter and released two bossa-nova inspired tracks in 2020 to raise money for charity.

Described by friends as ‘sweet and literature-loving’, Lady Gabriella is a much loved member of the wider Royal Family and is frequently invited to events, occasionally appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony. 

The shock news of Mr Kingston’s death comes as members of the Royal Family attended a thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine.

Queen Camilla led the Royal Family in the absence of her husband, King Charles, who is taking a break from royal duties as he battles cancer.

Prince William, Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, were also absent from the service – but Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson did attend.

King Charles was at Windsor Castle earlier in the day but left before the service began – with the reception afterwards set to be hosted by Camilla. 

Princess Kate, who also missed the service, is ‘doing well’ as she recovers from abdominal surgery.