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A British coroner has concluded that Thomas Kingston "took his own life" as he was likely provoked by an "adverse reaction" to prescribed medication for depression.
Kingston was found dead of a head injury at his parents' home in Kemble, Gloucestershire on February 25, 2024. He married Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Lady Ella was in the Coroner's Court when Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, read her statement aloud.
"(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.
The fact that he took his life at the home of his beloved parents where no one else would find him suggests the decision was the result of a sudden impulse and anxious thoughts sparked by the sight of the gun in the car boot.
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.
I believe anyone taking pills such as these needs 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.” "
Lady Ella described her marriage as "deeply loving and trusting, adding her husband never "expressed suicidal thoughts."
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Kingston, a 45-year-old financier, had originally been prescribed sertraline for depression, and zopiclone, a sleeping pill, by Dr. Nicky Naunton Morgan at the Royal Mews Surgery at Buckingham Palace. He sought treatment after "complaining of trouble sleeping following stress at work." Kingston returned to the doctor's office at the Palace seeking a change in medication as the sertraline was "not making him feel better." The doctor prescribed citalopram, another antidepressant, and diazepam. Kingston also "doubled his sleep medication."
Dr. Morgan serves as the apothecary to King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The inquest was told that Kingston had stopped taking the medication several days earlier. Toxicology tests after his death showed "caffeine and small amounts of zopiclone in his system."
Lady Ella was seen sobbing during the hearing.
The coroner accepted that Thomas Kingston died as the result of a "self-inflicted gunshot to the head." Thomas's father, Martin Kingston, "broke down as he described the moment he found his son's body." Martin, a retired lawyer, had to force his way into a locked bathroom in a building on the family property.
Martin and Thomas were licensed gun owners. Thomas had used one of his father's guns that he had borrowed for a shoot. He had brought the gun back to his father that weekend. Martin Kingston could not fathom why his son had taken his own life, He acknowledged having a "blunt" conversation with "Lady Gabriella and others with his son's business partner and friends," reported the Telegraph.
It was "entirely and fundamentally out of character" for Kingston to have taken his own life. The day before his death, Thomas Kingston, "in his usual ebullient spirits," had attended his niece's birthday party. He was a partner in a successful business, and his marriage, to Lady Ella was "a joy for them both."
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A medical expert, Dr. David Healey told the court that the sleeping drug, zopiclone "could cause anxiety," and sertraline and citalopram were essentially the same drug, with "different names." Dr Healey noted that Kingston, who acknowledged sertraline "did not suit him," but had not been told that he was being prescribed "the same thing again."
Dr Healey was also adamant about the lack of "clear enough advice" about the drugs' hazards. "We need a more explicit statement saying these drugs cause someone to commit suicide who wouldn't otherwise do so."
The inquest continues.
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