Thomas Kingston and wife Lady Gabriella Windsor were ‘happy and chatty’ just days before he died suddenly at home
THOMAS Kingston and his wife were "happy and chatty" just days before he suddenly died at home, pals claim.
The 45-year-old royal, who was married to Lady Gabriella Windsor, tragically died at the weekend, it was revealed last night.
Thomas was found dead on Sunday night, with tributes pouring in from royals like King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Heartbroken Lady Gabriella also said her "exceptional" husband would be remembered as someone "who lit up the lives of all who knew him".
The pair, who married in 2019, had been seen beaming at an event at London's National Gallery last week.
One pal claimed Thomas and Lady Gabriella were their usual jolly selves when they saw them last Wednesday.
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The close friend told : "They seemed happy and positive as ever.
"Ella was particularly chatty."
Another pal said: "It's utterly shocking. None of us saw it coming.
"I cannot understand it."
Thomas and his wife were last pictured at London's Celebration of Shakespeare at Grosvenor House Park Lane Hotel on Valentine's Day.
He and Lady Gabriella beamed as they posed for cameras with their arms lovingly wrapped around each other.
The pair both wore blue and black and had smiles from ear-to-ear as they walked on the red carpet.
Lady Gabriella put out a heartwrenching tribute to her husband last night.
The statement read: "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."
The couple got engaged in 2018 while they were holidaying on the Isle of Sark, and walked down the aisle together at St George's Chapel the following year.
Pals claimed Thomas and Lady Gabriella sparked up a relationship when they met through mutual friends in 2014.
On the day they wed, Lady Gabriella stunned in a lace gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria and arrived at the chapel in a claret-coloured vintage car.
Photographs inside the reception party revealed Lady Gabriella cutting her glorious eight-tier wedding cake with a sword.
Who was Thomas Kingston?
Thomas worked in frontier market investment, and was the director of Devonport Capital.
He was once described as "the most eligible man in London" and previously dated Pippa Middleton in 2011 - after she split from cricketer Alex Loudon.
Thomas graduated from the University of Bristol with a bachelor's degree in economic history, according to .
He worked in the Diplomatic Missions Unit of the United Kingdom's Foreign Office, and for almost three years worked in Baghdad as a project officer for the Iraqi Institute of Peace.
His job was to mediate conflicts in Iraq, and he even helped negotiate the release of hostages.
Thomas then moved into finance, working as an equity analyst for global asset management firm Schroders.
He was managing director of Voltan Capital Management until April 2017.
In September 2018, it was announced that Thomas was engaged to Lady Gabriella Windsor.
They married on May 18, 2019 at St. George's Chapel.
Thomas Kingston died on 27, 2024 aged 45.
The late Queen led the Royal Family at the wedding and was joined by the Duke of Sussex, and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Lady Gabriella also broke away from tradition and delivered her own speech.
She beamed: "Thank you so much for making all of this possible, both at beautiful St George's Chapel and here at Frogmore - a place so filled with charm and history throughout the house and its enchanted gardens.
"It is particularly meaningful to me as my grandparents, who I never had a chance to meet, are buried here."
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent put on a brave face yesterday, attending a memorial just hours after their son-in-law's death.
In the hours that followed, the King and Queen paid tribute to Thomas.
Their statement read: "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."
Gloucestershire Constabulary has said it was called by the ambulance service about the death of Thomas.
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The force said: "We were called by the ambulance service at 6.25pm on Sunday with a report of the death of a 45-year-old man at an address in the Cotswolds.
";The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner."