Share
29th February 2024
04:52pm GMT
Buckingham Palace has announced the passing of Thomas Kingston, husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
The exceptional financier and one-time hostage negotiator died suddenly at just 45 years old.
The cause of death has not yet been established and will instead be subject to an inquest. However, police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the royal's death.
Kingston married into the royal family in 2019 when he tied the knot with Lady Gabriella at a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
There was a lot more to the man than just his royal ties.
The University of Bristol graduate previously dated Pippa Middleton around the time of Kate and William's wedding in 2011, and spent a period of time working in hostage negotiation and conflict resolution during the Iraq war.
In this role, Kingston was based in Baghdad, and according to The Times, he was a critical member of a team of diplomats who negotiated the release of hostages and adjudicated disputes between the Iraq’s warring ethnic, religious, and tribal leaders.
In 2004, he narrowly escaped a brush with death when a a suicide-bombing claimed the lives of 22 people at the only Anglican church in Iraq.
Reverend Canon Andrew White, who was known as the “Vicar of Baghdad” thanks to his ten years presiding over the Anglican church in Iraq and also survived the bombing, said previously that Kingston was an “an exceptional young man” who “makes things happen.”
The news of Thomas Kingston's death comes at a tumultuous time for the royal family, with King Charles' cancer battle and Kate Middleton's whereabouts a subject of much speculation.
The King and Queen have extended their deepest condolences to Lady Gabriella Kingston and Mr. Kingston’s family in the days following the news.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson conveyed, “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.”
An inquest is set to open on Friday regarding the circumstances of his death.
Related links:
Explore more on these topics:
