Tom Kingston passed away suddenly in late February of this year. In the British inquest system, any “unnatural” death is investigated and the case is left open until various avenues are explored. Kingston was married to Lady Gabriella Windsor, which meant his connection to the Windsors turned a devastating family tragedy into international news, especially given that Kingston’s passing came during a particularly chaotic moment for the Windsors. My guess is that the Windsors probably would have preferred for the investigation to be wrapped up months ago, but that’s not what happened. In October, the inquest into Kingston’s passing took an interesting turn: they began to examine the medication he was taking or had recently taken. Now Kingston’s father and widow have both given testimony about the medications.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter Lady Gabriella Kingston has said her husband died after making a ‘sudden impulse’ decision to take his own life after suffering an adverse reaction to prescribed medication. Thomas Kingston, 45, died from a shotgun wound to the head at the home of his beloved parents in the Cotswolds on February 25.
At an inquest into his death held at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, Lady Gabriella, 43, said people need to be warned about the effects of medications used to treat mental health conditions or more people could die. In a statement read out at the inquest by senior coroner Katy Skerrett, Lady Gabriella said: ‘(Work) was certainly a challenge for him over the years but I highly doubt it would have led him to take his own life, and it seemed much improved. If anything had been troubling him, I’m positive that he would have shared that he was struggling severely. The fact that he took his life at the home of his beloved parents suggests the decision was the result of a sudden impulse.’
She said she believed his death was ‘likely provoked’ by an adverse reaction to the medication he had begun, and subsequently stopped taking, in the weeks leading up to his death.
He had initially been given Sertraline – an anti-depressant – and Zopiclone, a sleeping tablet, by a GP at the Royal Mews Surgery – a practice used by royal household staff – after complaining of trouble sleeping following stress at work. Mr Kingston complained this was not making him feel better and his doctor moved him off Sertraline to Citalopram, another selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used as an anti-depressant.
‘The lack of any evidence of inclination it seems highly likely to me that he had an adverse reaction to the pills that led him to take his life,’ Lady Gabriella said. ‘I believe anyone taking pills such as these need to be made more aware of the side effects to prevent any future deaths. If this could happen to Tom, this could happen to anyone.’
In the days leading up to his death, Mr Kingston had stopped taking medication, and toxicology tests showed caffeine and small amounts of zopiclone in his system. In his final weeks, Lady Gabriella said, her husband had ‘seemed normal’, apart from early in the day after previously taking zopiclone, which she said made him seem ‘almost hungover’.
In her statement, she described their marriage as ‘deeply loving and trusting’ and said he had never expressed any suicidal thoughts to her or others. She added that he had been deeply affected by the suicide of a friend and the ‘devastating impact it had on other people’s loved ones’. Lady Gabriella cried while she sat in the coroner’s court as her statement was read out.
Thomas’s father, William Kingston, also testified. He found his son’s body in the out-building on his property. William Kingston had to use a crowbar to get into the building. He also said that Thomas left no note, no will, and Thomas had not even searched for anything related to suicide online. I think Gabriella and William Kingston’s testimony is intended to point out that Thomas wasn’t having a particularly hard time personally or professionally, and the medication is truly the only reason they can come up with. It does sound like Thomas had a really awful reaction to the Sertraline, Zopiclone and Citalopram. It feels notable that he stopped taking the antidepressants in the weeks beforehand, but he was seemingly having a bad reaction to the sleeping pills too. It’s so tragic.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.