The royal family endured a tragedy last year following the death by suicide of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston, on 25 February 2024. The moment united royals who offered their support to Lady Gabriella, who is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. In a new interview with The Times, Sophie Winkleman, also known as Lady Frederick Windsor, the sister-in-law of Lady Gabriella opened up about how the family reacted to the news, and how her husband, Lord Frederick Windsor, has started a new job in the wake.
“That was a big tragedy in our lives, and we all miss him every day,” she told the publication. “My girls adored him. It’s brutal. We’re still in touch with all his family and it feels like he’s still with us.” She also revealed that her husband had now started working for the charity, James’ Place, which helps men dealing with suicidal thoughts. Sophie added: “It’s not a positive to come out of it at all, but it makes you so much more aware that the exterior of someone can be very different from what’s going on inside.”
Thomas’ death
At the inquest into Thomas’ death in December, Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, concluded that Thomas had taken his own life, adding: “The evidence of his wife, family and business partner all supports his lack of suicidal intent. He was suffering adverse effects of medication he had recently been prescribed.”
The inquest was told that Thomas had initially been given sertraline, a drug used to treat depression, and zopiclone, a sleeping tablet, by a GP at the Royal Mews Surgery, a practice at Buckingham Palace used by royal household staff, after complaining of trouble sleeping following stress at work. He later returned to the surgery saying they were not making him feel better, and his doctor moved him from sertraline to citalopram, a similar drug. In the days leading up to his death, Thomas had stopped taking his medication.
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Thomas’ death, his parents, Jill and Martin, appeared on Radio 4 to talk about their late son. Thomas’s mother explained how they had lunch and later enjoyed a relaxing afternoon, reading books, sitting around the fire on a “cold February day”. She continued: “We fell asleep, he fell asleep, I fell asleep. Martin, you decided to go for a walk, and then Tom got up and went to unload his car because he was bringing home some stuff they’d got in London, and it was going to be stored with us.”
© GettyThomas Kingston died on 25 February 2024
Martin said that he knew something was wrong when Jill couldn’t find him [Thomas]. He went on to say: “I realised that one of the rooms that was in the outbuilding was locked… I had to break the door down.” In an emotional moment, Thomas’ father added: “I would have difficulty explaining to you what it was like without crying.”
If you have been affected by this story and wish to seek help, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year.