Back in 1993 I wrote that the royal family had become a national obsession, eventually becoming the global obsession they are today. Every detail of their lives, however mundane or insignificant, was recorded, often making front-page news. Then social media and the internet with all its ramifications engulfed them and now it’s all about artificial intelligence (AI).
In a video message to a Bletchley Park event last year the King highlighted the risks of AI. Only recently Buckingham Palace had to make a formal complaint and alert their legal team to claims that ‘intrusive and insensitive’ books about the monarch’s cancer diagnosis – written using artificial intelligence – were being sold online.
The attention focused on the family makes life difficult, especially when things don’t go according to plan. The absence of the Princess of Wales following abdominal surgery had been expected and scheduled, as Kensington Palace explained several times, yet there was still speculation that all was not well. The attention these things attract is nothing new, but when it comes to deeply personal issues the unremitting scrutiny can be intolerable.
All the more credit to brave Lady Gabriella Windsor, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter, when it was announced on 27 February that her husband, 45-year-old Thomas Kingston, had been found dead at his parents’ Gloucestershire home two days earlier. The inquest revealed that Tom had a traumatic head wound and a gun had been found next to his body. The shock was shared by all who knew the couple. They were last pictured together on Valentine’s Day when they joined the Queen at a gathering of acting ‘royalty’ at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent shared their daughter’s ‘deepest sorrow’ at the bewildering nature of their son-in-law’s death and two days later attended a memorial service for Ella’s godfather and their good friend King Constantine of Greece at St George’s Chapel. Ella and Tom were married there in May 2019.
Ella is close to her brother Lord Frederick Windsor and his wife, actress Sophie Winkleman. As the elder sibling Freddie took control of the situation while his sister moved back to Kensington Palace with her parents.
Buckingham Palace released an unusually emotional statement, saying: ‘The King and 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 all the Kingston family.’
Before marrying into the royal family, Kingston, a committed Christian, had worked in the diplomatic missions unit of the Foreign Office in Baghdad, where he was involved in securing the release of hostages. On his return he delved into the world of finance, eventually becoming a director of the private equity firm Devonport Capital, which specialises in providing finance for companies in ‘frontier economies’. Ella is an accomplished writer and recently lent her singing talents to a children’s film she helped to create.
Our thoughts are with Ella and with Tom’s family at this desperately sad time.
