Tragic royal Thomas Kingston’s company was chasing bad debts totalling almost £50m when he took his own life, MailOnline has learned.
Financier Mr Kingston, 45, husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, died in February 2024 of self-inflicted gunshot wounds following ‘an adverse reaction to medication’ to help him sleep after suffering from anxiety.
Mr Kingston died from a head injury at his parent’s home in the Cotswolds, with a gun found lying nearby.
An inquest into his death was told he had stopped taking medication in the days leading up to his death.
The inquest was told Mr Kingston had initially been given sertraline, a drug used to treat anxiety and depression, and zopiclone, a sleeping tablet, by a GP at the Royal Mews Surgery, a practice at Buckingham Palace used by royal household staff, after complaining of trouble sleeping.
Lady Gabriella also warned the inquest, held last December, about the effects of drugs used to treat mental health problems.
In her statement read out by Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, she said: ‘I believe anyone taking pills such as these need to be made more aware of the side effects to prevent any future deaths.
‘If this could happen to Tom, this could happen to anyone.’
Thomas Kingston with his wife Lady Gabriella Windsor Kingston. The couple married in May 2019
The pair at Royal Ascot in 2023. At the inquest into Thomas’s death, it emerged that he had struggled with anxiety and had been taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as anti-depressants – but had stopped taking them
In the months leading up to his death, Thomas (pictured) experienced work-related stress and sought medical assistance for trouble sleeping
She also said: ‘The fact that he took his life at the home of his beloved parents suggests the decision was the result of a sudden impulse.’
The coroner Katy Skerrett concluded Kingston took his own life and said: ‘He was suffering adverse effects of medication he had recently been prescribed.’
Now it’s emerged that he was having financial issues around the time of his suicide.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden revealed last week how his company Devonport Capital Ltd owes creditors £29.5million and that the company has been placed into administration.
An administrators’ report also said that more recently, some creditors had been considering legal action against Devonport to recover their debts, prompting the decision to place it into administration in February 2025.
Now it’s further emerged that Mr Kingston and his business partner Paul Bailey had also been struggling to repay their own creditors after two major companies defaulted on loans.
Since Mr Kingston’s death, his family have campaigned for changes in how antidepressants are prescribed and for more awareness of possible side effects.
But the scale of the financial struggles facing Devonport Capital also throws new light on the pressures with which Mr Kingston was confronted.
Two major borrowers were defaulting on combined debts of $64 million -or around £48 million.
Thomas and Lady Gabriella tied the knot at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, surrounded by family and friends, on May 18, 2019
Thomas and Lady Gabriella smile for photographers at the 2023 Wimbledon Tennis Championships
The company was set up in 2015 by Bailey, and former hostage negotiator Mr Kingston joined in 2017. It provided finance in ‘high risk, post-conflict’ environments – including Iraq.
An African gold mine company working in Ghana owed $18.3 million (£13.75m) and a USA-based renewable energy business owed $46m (£34.57m).
Administrators Michael Goldstein and Avmer Radomsky, of RG Insolvency, said: ‘Whilst the company was undoubtedly successful, the environment in which it operated meant that inevitably there were bad debts suffered along the way.
‘Over time the interest compounding on amounts outstanding to lenders when the company’s borrowers failed to repay became increasingly challenging to manage.
‘There are two significant loans in default (a total of approximately $60 million, including default penalties and accrued interest which have very significantly impacted the company’s performance.’
The report said they are seeking to recover £49 million in loans but ‘at this stage it is uncertain as to the recoverability of the debts’.
As a result they are predicting repayment could be anywhere between 20% and 60% of the value – or £9.8 million to £29.4 million.
A Statement of Affairs document for the company showed the company owed creditors £29.5 million, but was expected to realise £32 million in assets.
Queen Camilla, King Charles, Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston watch the racing from the Royal Box at Royal Ascot in 2023
Thomas appears in high spirits as he speaks to Camilla during Royal Ascot 2023
Before Mr Kingston’s death, he and Mr Bailey had secured the backing of New Zealand-born billionaire Christopher Chandler, a major investor in GB News.
Mr Chandler is currently owed nearly £13 million by the company.
A Devonport Capital spokesperson told the Mail last week: ‘In February 2024, the decision was taken to wind down the business of Devonport Capital.
‘Having made significant progress realising and securing funds, it became clear earlier this year that the best way to ensure fair and proper allocation of outstanding recoveries was to place the business into administration.’
Tom’s father, barrister Martin Kingston KC appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on the first anniversary of his son’s death in February, arguing that patients should be told explicitly about the potential side effects of the medication – including the possible consequences if they stop taking it.
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