bitchy | Lady Gabriella Windsor has been invited to Trooping the Colour next month

In late February, Thomas Kingston died by gunshot wound to the head. The coroner later said that it was almost certainly self-inflicted, and I cannot tell if there’s still any ongoing investigation, but I don’t think there is. Kingston’s widow, Lady Gabriella Windsor, is said to be really torn up about her husband’s death. She’s no longer living in the London home they shared, and she’s moved into her parents’ Kensington Palace apartment. There was already a small, private, royal funeral held for Kingston, but there are plans for a larger memorial service at some point in the near future. The Windsors are apparently rallying behind Gabriella, and according to Richard Eden at the Mail, the king wants Gabriella to come out for Trooping the Colour.

Of all the troubles to have afflicted the Royal Family this year, none has been more devastating than the tragic death of Thomas Kingston, the 45-year-old husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor. Handsome and popular, Tom died from what was described as a traumatic head wound in February. A gun was found near his body in an outbuilding at his parents’ home in the Cotswolds.

This weekend will be particularly poignant for Lady Gabriella, as Saturday is the fifth anniversary of her wedding at St George’s Chapel, Windsor – a joyful occasion with the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip among the guests.

Now, the Royal Family is rallying round once again, this time to help Lady Gabriella – daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent – to recover from the ordeal. I can reveal that their Majesties have invited Ella, as she is known by friends, to attend the King’s Birthday Parade next month. The parade is the formal name for Trooping the Colour and an appearance at the occasion would be the first time she has been seen in public since her husband’s death.

‘Everyone hopes that Ella will attend the celebrations, if she feels up to it,’ a royal source tells me. ‘It would be a powerful signal of the Family’s love and concern for her.’

It is not clear if Lady Gabriella will be invited to join the King and Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the traditional fly-past when the parade is over. Along with other junior royals, Ella had made regular appearances on the balcony until the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020. When the pandemic was over and Trooping the Colour returned, Queen Elizabeth invited only ‘working royals’ to join her, so sparing the blushes of her son Prince Andrew, who had been stripped of public duties, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who had stepped back from royal duties with ‘The Firm’.

If Lady Gabriella does feel able to attend the King’s Birthday Parade and the private lunch that will follow, it would be useful preparation for an even more important date in her calendar the following weekend.

I can disclose that Tom’s family, in partnership with the royals, have organised a big memorial service for him. Some of his friends have already been invited. ‘It will be a wonderful chance to celebrate his life,’ one tells me. Most were not invited to his funeral in March. This was a small and, I’m told, ‘highly emotional’ gathering at the Chapel Royal within St James’s Palace – the setting for the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840 and the Christening of Prince George in 2013.

[From The Daily Mail]

I know this isn’t the point of the story – or maybe it is, knowing Richard Eden – but it would be WILD if Gabriella was on the balcony for Trooping. Like, for years now, the Windsors have made such a BFD about “the balcony is only for WORKING ROYALS” and “Harry and Meghan are desperate to get on the balcony, but we’re snubbing them!” It must have dawned on the king’s courtiers that this year’s Trooping balcony is going to look pretty stale and musty, especially if the Princess of Wales and the Wales kids are not there. But allowing Gabriella on the balcony? It will be fascinating, if it happens. Anyway, all of the reporting around Kingston’s death has really emphasized that the Windsors are rallying behind her and throwing a protective shield around her. As they should, I’m glad that she’s being protected. I just wish the Windsors treated every female family member that way.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.