Lady Gabriella’s husband ‘killed himself after taking antidepressants’

Lady Gabriella Kingston’s husband took his own life after taking anti-depressants prescribed by his doctor, a coroner has said.

Thomas Kingston, who married Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter at Windsor Castle in 2019, died of a head injury and a gun was found next to his body on March 25 at his parents’ home in the Cotswolds.

At an inquest into her death held at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, Lady Gabriella, 43, asked people to be warned about the side effects of drugs used to treat mental health conditions or she feared people would many may die.

The inquest was told that the 45-year-old fundraiser had been given sertraline, a drug used to treat depression, and zopiclone, a sleeping pill, by a doctor at the Royal Mews Surgery, Buckingham Palace’s staff-run practice. of the palace. , after complaining of trouble sleeping after stress at work.

Mr Kingston went back to surgery saying they were not making him feel better, and his doctor switched him from sertraline to citalopram, a similar drug.

In the first days of his death, Mr. Kingston had stopped taking medication, and toxicology tests showed caffeine and a small amount of zopiclone in his system.

In a statement read out by Katy Skerrett, chief minister of Gloucestershire, Lady Gabriella, 43, said: “[Work] it has been a challenge for her over the years but I highly doubt it would have made her suicidal, and she seemed to have improved a lot.

If there was something that was bothering him, I’m sure he would have said that he was struggling a lot.

The fact that he committed suicide in the home of his beloved parents suggests that the decision was the result of a sudden impulse.

He said he believed her death “may have been precipitated” by an adverse reaction to medication she had started, and then stopped, taking in the weeks leading up to her death.

“In the absence of any evidence of propensity, it seems very likely to me that she had a bad reaction to the pills that made her take her own life,” Lady Gabriella said.

“I believe that anyone who takes pills like these should be warned about the side effects to prevent future deaths.

If this can happen to Tom, it can happen to anyone.

In his final weeks, Mrs Gabriella said, her husband “seemed normal”, except for the morning after he first took zopiclone, which she said made him seem “he he’s a bit confused”.

In his statement, he described their marriage as one of “deep love and trust” and said he never gave any suicidal thoughts to himself or others.

He also said he was deeply affected by his friend’s suicide and “the negative impact it had on other people’s loved ones”.

Miss Gabriella, whose wedding to Mr Kingston included Queen Elizabeth II and the late Duke of Edinburgh among the guests, wept as she sat in the coroner’s court as her statement was read.

Wrapping up the story, Ms Skerrett said: “Mr Kingston took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

“The evidence of his wife, family and business partner all support the lack of intent to kill himself.

He was suffering from the side effects of the medicine he had just been given.”

He said he intends to make a report on the prevention of future deaths, which will be sent to medical societies.

Mr. Kingston’s father, William Martin Kingston, wept as he described finding his son in the locked bathroom of the annexe, having used a doorknob to break the door.

He told the court that his son has always had a strong, unstable character, as he previously suffered from pain that left him needing help to climb the stairs.

She told the coroner that before her son’s death there did not appear to be any evidence of suicide, and there was no will, describing the process as “reckless.” very” who was “out of shape”.

Dr David Healy, a psychiatrist who gave evidence at the hearing, said zopiclone could also cause anxiety, while sertraline and citalopram were both serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and while exactly the same.

Dr Healy said Mr Kingston’s complaints that sertraline continued to cause him anxiety was a sign SSRIs “didn’t suit him”, and he should not have been prescribed the same thing again.

He said the guidelines and labels for SSRIs were not clear enough about using the drug first, or what the effect would be when switching from one to another.

He said: “We need a clearer statement that these drugs can cause people to kill themselves who would otherwise not kill themselves.

Speaking to the doctor, Martin Porter, the family’s adviser, said: “The family is not to blame (her doctor) Dr Naunton Morgan, he worked like a good doctor.

But the question is whether there is enough advice to doctors about SSRIs.