Lady Gabriella Windsor, a second cousin of King Charles III, wept in court Tuesday, as she testified about her husband’s death earlier this year from suicide.
Windsor, 43, said in a statement read out in court that she believes her husband Thomas Kingston, 45, made an “impulse” decision when he shot himself in the head at his parent’s home in February.
“The fact that he took his life at the home of his beloved parents suggests the decision was the result of a sudden impulse,” Windsor said, according to the Daily Mail.
ADVERTISEMENT
Windsor wept at times during the hearing for the inquest into her husband’s death. Though his death is not considered suspicious, an inquest is a common practice in the United Kingdom for those who die under unnatural circumstances.
Windsor testified that her husband’s actions were “likely provoked” by an adverse reaction to psychiatric medication.
He had tried Sertraline, Zopiclone and Citalopram, but had stopped taking them in the days before his death, she said.
“It seems highly likely to me that he had an adverse reaction to the pills that led him to take his life,” she said in the statement.
“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.”
The couple were married in a 2019 ceremony, at which the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were guests.
In the statement, Windsor said their marriage was “deeply loving and trusting.”
Kingston’s also father wept as he described breaking down the door of an outbuilding and finding his son.
The coroner said: “Mr Kingston took his own life using a shotgun which caused a severe traumatic wound to the head. 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.”
Windsor, 43, is the King’s second cousin; they are both great-grandchildren of King George V.
