Thomas Kingston's parents and widow Lady Gabriella unite for 'emotionally exhausting inquest'

The parents of Thomas Kingston, and his widow Lady Gabriella Kingston, endured an "utterly emotional inquest" on Tuesday 3 December.

During a hearing at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court, Thomas' father "described his efforts to establish what might have made his son believe his life was not worth living," explaining that Thomas' actions were "entirely and fundamentally out of character".  The financier died aged 45 from a "catastrophic head injury" and a gun was found near his body at his parents' home in the Cotswolds, on 25 February.

The Telegraph's Victoria Ward, who was at the inquest wrote: "His parents, Martin and Jill, and his widow, Lady Gabriella Windsor, are in court. The coroner acknowledged that it would be an "utterly emotionally exhausting" day for them all."

"Mr Kingston described his efforts to establish what might have made his son believe his life was not worth living. Many tears in court as he said it was so "entirely and fundamentally out of character" to take his life without careful planning while leaving so many loose ends."

"Thomas was a mature, well-adjusted, emotionally stable and mentally robust man," he said. "He had handled mentally challenging and difficult situations in the past." He said "it cannot be a coincidence" that he had started taking new medication three weeks prior."

More to follow.

MORE ON LADY GABRIELLA

• Who is Lady Gabriella Kingston? Everything you need to know about Thomas Kingston's widow

• Who was Thomas Kingston? Everything you need to know about Lady Gabriella Windsor's late husband

• Lady Gabriella Windsor and late husband Thomas Kingston's fairytale wedding day

During a pre-inquest review hearing on Tuesday 8 October, his family were "advised that there could be a connection" between medication he had taken and his state of mind before his death.

Thomas was the son-in-law of Prince and Princess of Michael of Kent. He married Lady Gabriella at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in May 2019.

In a joint statement with Thomas' parents Martin and Jill, and his sisters Joanna Connolly and Emma Murray, Lady Gabriella called her husband an "exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him".

The financier's private funeral took place at the Chapel Royal at St James's in London, with the Prince of Wales among the mourners.

Lady Gabriella, who was last seen publicly at Royal Ascot in June, has moved back in with her parents at Kensington Palace.

The British writer, 43, previously lived in Notting Hill in west London with Thomas.

The couple were last pictured together on 14 February as they joined Queen Camilla at an engagement to celebrate the works of Shakespeare.

Who was Thomas Kingston?

Thomas and Lady Gabriella began dating after being introduced by mutual friends in 2014, with the financier proposing on the island of Sark in August 2018.

His 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 he started out in the Foreign Office, according to a previous entry on Devonport Capital's website.

In 2003, he became project manager for a "Government sponsored conflict resolution project" in Iraq.

According to The Telegraph, he was in Baghdad, working for the release of hostages after joining the Foreign Office's Diplomatic Missions Unit.

In 2006, Thomas joined Schroder's Asset Management in London before joining Voltan Capital Management in 2012 and five years later, he became a director of Devonport Capital Ltd.

He was a Bristol University graduate, having obtained a bachelor's degree in economic history, and a chartered financial analyst.

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