King Charles and Lady Gabriella Kingston at Royal Ascot 2023© Getty

King Charles' heartfelt gesture to Lady Gabriella Kingston ahead of difficult anniversary - report

Lady Gabriella's husband Thomas Kingston died in February

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
May 16, 2024

The King has been supporting Lady Gabriella Kingston since the unexpected death of her husband, Thomas Kingston, in February.

And now it's been reported that he and the Queen have invited Ella, as she is known to friends, to attend the King's Birthday Parade on 15 June – formally known as Trooping the Colour.

A royal source is said to have told The Daily Mail's Richard Eden that everyone is hopeful that Lady Gabriella will attend the celebrations "if she feels up to it".

It comes ahead of a very difficult anniversary for Ella, who is the daughter of the late Queen's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent and his wife, Princess Michael of Kent.

Saturday 18 May would have marked her fifth wedding anniversary with Thomas, who was found dead at the age of 45 at his parents' home in the Cotswolds on 25 February. An inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court on 1 March found that the financier died from a "catastrophic head injury" and a gun was found near his body. His death was not treated as suspicious, and no one else was involved.

The Prince of Wales was among the royals to pay their respects at Thomas's funeral at the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace in London on 12 March.

If Lady Gabriella were to attend Trooping the Colour, it would mark her first public appearance since her husband's death. The couple were last pictured together on Valentine's Day as they attended a Shakespeare event with Queen Camilla in London.

© Getty

Lady Gabriella and Thomas on their wedding day in 2019

British writer and contributing editor Ella, 43, has reportedly moved back in with her parents at Apartment 10 at Kensington Palace, having previously shared a home in Notting Hill in west London with her late husband.

Lady Gabriella and Thomas, who were introduced by mutual friends, first began dating in 2015. Three years later the financier proposed to Ella on the Isle of Sark in 2018.

© Getty

The King and Queen with Lady Gabriella and Thomas at Royal Ascot last year

Lady Gabriella and Thomas wed on 18 May 2019 at St George's Chapel in Windsor, with the late Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Harry among the guests.

In a joint statement with his family following the announcement of his death, Lady Gabriella said: "Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him."

© Getty

Lady Gabriella with her father, Prince Michael of Kent, at the Princess of Wales's Christmas carol concert last December

Meanwhile, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said at the time: "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."

If you have been affected by this story and wish to seek help, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year.

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