Inside Thomas Kingston's remarkable life: The hostage negotiator-turned-financier who survived a suicide bombing in Iraq before marrying into the Royal Family

READ MORE:  Royal Family in shock as Thomas Kingston dies at the age of 45

When Thomas Kingston married Lady Gabriella Windsor five years ago, it was the culmination of a remarkable life that had seen him defy the norm.

His wedding with the daughter of Princess Michael of Kent at St George’s Chapel mirrored that of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just a year earlier.

But that was where the similarities ended, as the man equipped with good looks, charm, and a healthy amount of good fortune, entered royal life.

Having survived a suicide bombing in Baghdad, negotiate with bloodthirsty militias and equipped with a healthy dose of charm and good looks, some would say he was well equipped to deal with life in the public eye.

His sudden death at the age of 45 on Sunday has sent shockwaves through the Royal Family and brings to an end the incredible life of an ‘exceptional man’.

Thomas Kingston pictured with his wife Lady Gabriella Windsor at Wimbledon in July 2022

Thomas Kingston pictured with Lady Gabriella Windsor after the Service of Thanksgiving for the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2022

Kingston pictured on his wedding day with his wife Lady Gabriella Windsor at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on May 18, 2019

The word incredible doesn’t seem to do justice when it comes to describing some of Kingston’s experiences in a life that was truly well-lived.

Not a member of the aristocracy, his family came from more humble beginnings – one of his acestors was a former ambassador to Denmark and a great-grandfather who was thrice mayor of Walsall in the West Midlands.

His father, educated at a secondary modern school, was a self-made man after becoming a hugely successful barrister specialising in planning law.

Kingston himself would graduate from Bristol University with a bachelor’s in economic history, a degree he would put to good use in his careers.

Among the most common tales that flittered around Kingston were those from his three action-packed years spent in war-torn Iraq.

Serving in the diplomatic missions unit of the Foreign Office in Baghdad, Kingston had countless brushes with death, including escaping a suicide-bombing that claimed 22 lives. 

No one knew him better in those perilous times than the Reverend Canon Andrew White, who for more than ten years presided over the only Anglican church in Iraq, a role that led to him being dubbed the Vicar of Baghdad.

He previously told the Mail, he recalled Kingston as ‘an exceptional young man’ who ‘makes things happen’. His great strength, he said, was to ‘see beyond the impossible’.

Like the priest with whom he shared a strong faith, Kingston was also an ‘adrenaline junkie’. He helped with his ministry, which built up a following of 6,500 worshippers.

Canon White added: ‘Tom is one of the most remarkable people I have ever worked with and I would have him back at my side tomorrow, if he would come.’

While some were drawn to Iraq for business, for Kingston the lure of Baghdad was far more personal.

He was instead driven by a strong faith instilled in him by his parents – his father was elected to the General Synod of the Church of England and his mother a trustee of a Christian healing centre in Cirencester.

Kingston pictured alongside Lady Gabriella Windsor at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022

Kingston, the son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, was found dead at his home on Sunday, February 25

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston pictured at the Jungle Part at Annabel’s in London in September 2018

Sent to Baghdad, he was seconded as a project manager for the International Centre for Reconciliation, which is based at Coventry Cathedral, to mediate in disputes between political, religious and tribal leaders and to negotiate the release of hostages.

Baghdad was where Canon White and Tom met. ‘Tom is an individual with a very strong faith,’ recalled the Canon in a chat with the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay in 2019.

‘It was that faith and commitment which led to us working together in Iraq, where we survived some close scrapes. They were a daily occurrence.

‘Tom has a fierce determination to make things succeed and great insight into what makes humans tick, both good and bad. He uses those to see beyond the impossible and get through to the other side.’

His work with Canon White, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, helped maintain the Anglican Church in Baghdad, which was established in 1990.

‘We built up a huge following, hundreds of whom I baptised as children and who have relocated to Jordan. Tom helped me.’

The church was in a former palace of Saddam Hussein’s and the pulpit one of his thrones.

‘Those were good times,’ recalled the clergyman. ‘I think Tom would agree and we have stayed in touch by phone and email since.’

Both men were in the church when it was targeted in a suicide-bomb attack in 2004.

They had walked in just before the blast, which killed two of the congregation and 20 others.

Intriguingly, Kingston was also at the time working with Prince Michael of Kent, his future father-in-law, even though he had not at that stage met his daughter Gabriella.

‘Prince Michael has a relative who is buried on the Mount of Olives. While we were working there, we located the grave for him and ensured it was properly tended,’ added Canon White.

Mr Kingston (pictured with Lady Gabriella Kingston), 45, was found deceased at an address in Gloucestershire on Sunday evening

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston are pictured at Royal Ascot in June last year

Thomas Kingston was close friends with Pippa Middleton, the Princess of Wales’ sister. They are pictured here at Cheltenham Festival in 2013

Kingston would later leave Baghdad, doing so to join the private bank Schroders, and later joined Devonport Capital where he helped find investment for ‘frontier’ economies and those undergoing postwar reconstruction.

He had always discreetly flittered in and around royal circles before his marriage to Lady Windsor, with women attracted to his languid confidence.

He was seen in close quarters with Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Princess of Wales, and financier Natalie Hicks-Lobbecke, who was an old flame of Prince William and whom he dated while working in Iraq.

Despite that relationship not working out, it was telling that none of his ex-girlfriends ever appeared jilted.

As one close friend said would admiringly tell the Mail: ‘Tom’s great achievement is that none of his old girlfriends have anything but nice things to say about him. Even when it’s all over, they still like him.

‘In old-fashioned terms, he is a gentleman, just the kind of guy you want to introduce to your mother.’

It was perhaps this that helped swing things in his favour when he and Lady Gabriella Windsor became an item and it was soon apparent they would be together for the long run.

He would propose to her on Sark in the Channel Islands – where his parents have a holiday home – just before Christmas, four years after first going out.

Their wedding, in May 2019, was a stunning occasion.

In attendance were the late Queen and late Duke of Edinburgh, with Harry leaving wife Meghan and then newborn son Archie at home to attend the ceremony.

Among the guests at the service were the Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, designer Nicky Haslam and the family of the Princess of Wales, her parents Carole and Michael Middleton and siblings Pippa and James, who were joined by their partners.

Their subsequent marriage was a seemingly happy one, with the couple often joining each other at social events and royal gatherings.

He accompanied his wife to the late Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022, whom she was very close with.

The tragic last photo of Thomas Kingston and his wife Lady Gabriella Windsor, taken at event in London on Valentines Day

The couple were pictured with King Charles and Queen Camilla in the Royal Box at Royal Ascot in June 2023

Kingston, pictured here on the day of his wedding to Lady Gabriella Windsor, lived a remarkable life

On other occasions, Mr Kingston was seen at Trooping the Colour and sat in the royal box at Wimbledon.

His death on Sunday, February 25, at an address in Gloucestershire came as a shock to all – the couple had been seen together only the Wednesday before at an event at the National Gallery in London.

Lady Gabriella paid tribute to her financier husband in a joint statement with his family, describing him as an ‘exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him’. His tragic death was described as a ‘great shock to the whole family’.

An inquest will be held to establish the cause of death but there are no suspicious circumstances and no other parties involved.

Lady Gabriella released a personal photo she took of her husband, showing him smiling and dressed in a casual pink shirt as he stood near a stretch of water in the sunshine.

A statement on behalf of Lady Gabriella and Mr Kingston’s family said: ‘It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother.

‘Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. His death has come as a great shock to the whole family and we ask you to respect our privacy as we mourn his passing.’

King Charles and Queen Camilla have sent their ‘most heartfelt thoughts and prayers’ to Lady Kingston and Mr Kingston’s family.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: ‘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.’