Brit Royals & aristos (fashion, events, news etc.)

[sdkitty]

Especially since Prince William cancelled with 45 minutes to go and he was supposed to do one of the readings. And his excuse was personal reasons with no further explanation so the Kents could have excused themselves by simply saying for personal reasons too.

it's not like he died a natural death and had been ill...this was really tragic

 

[youngster]

Very sad, very tragic. I'm so sorry for Lady Gabriella.

 

[QueenofWrapDress]

Princess Michael doesn't have a very good reputation, right? she is the one who wore the racist brooch to meet Harry's Wife?

Yes, that's her. I will say I don't necessarily think Blackamoor as an art form is inherently racist (speaking of the original antique pieces, not stuff still produced today) - would I wear my collection out, though? Probably not. That said I've never heard she is cruel to her own offspring, just that she is b*tchy and snobbish. Which I can kind of get behind as a mood

P.S. and yes, her father was a party member in Germany, but also she was born during the last days of WW2 so I don't think that can be held against her.

ETA: when the story first broke I thought she knew what she was doing. Now that I've thought about it some more, I am not so sure she would go out of her way to be rude simply because why make the effort. The Queen apparently once chuckled and said "She's too grand for us!" because PM is apparently very proud of her family roots going back to the 14th century.

 

[QueenofWrapDress]

I don't find it that surprising. But I guess it depends on what you're used to and what kind of family you have. I'm not sure my family would rush to be by my side no matter what happened. I can imagine them calling me and asking me if there was anything they could do and ask me if I wanted them to come visit me or if I wanted to fly to them and stay at their house etc. I live in another country now but even if I didn't, I can't imagine them rushing to be at my home.

Mine would, without asking first if I wanted to see them and without hesitation. They would also not be deterred by the small stuff like hospital visitation hours I still maintain to this day my grandfather came back from a coma when he was almost gone and got another six months of life granted because they didn't want a horde of lunatics with torches and pitchforks knocking down the gates of heaven and demand him back. Six months in we'd had time to get used to the thought.

Such terrible news! BBC writes about it in such a cryptic way that it takes a while to decipher what happened. I imagine Thomas must have been suffering terribly from war traumas. That's my theory anyway. Poor Ella!

Not the first time I've read this, but which war trauma? He was no soldier and never saw action. He worked for the Iraqi Institute of Peace in Baghdad, mediated conflicts and occasionally helped negotiate the release of hostages. He was essentially a diplomat.

 

[mikimoto007]

Especially since Prince William cancelled with 45 minutes to go and he was supposed to do one of the readings. And his excuse was personal reasons with no further explanation so the Kents could have excused themselves by simply saying for personal reasons too.

The Kents didn't even need to give a public reason. They just wouldn't have been there. Eventually people would have noticed - I noticed she wasn't at the memorial service and thought it strange as a goddaughter but it wasn't immediately noticeable.

 

[mikimoto007]

Not the first time I've read this, but which war trauma? He was no soldier and never saw action. He worked for the Iraqi Institute of Peace in Baghdad, mediated conflicts and occasionally helped negotiate the release of hostages. He was essentially a didiplomat.

I would have thought anyone living in Iraq could be suspectible to war trauma, given they are living in a war zone regardless of whether they served in military or not - perhaps that isn't the case?

 

[rcy]

Mine would, without asking first if I wanted to see them and without hesitation. They would also not be deterred by the small stuff like hospital visitation hours I still maintain to this day my grandfather came back from a coma when he was almost gone and got another six months of life granted because they didn't want a horde of lunatics with torches and pitchforks knocking down the gates of heaven and demand him back. Six months in we'd had time to get used to the thought.




Not the first time I've read this, but which war trauma? He was no soldier and never saw action. He worked for the Iraqi Institute of Peace in Baghdad, mediated conflicts and occasionally helped negotiate the release of hostages. He was essentially a diplomat.

not sure if they use "hostage negotiator" differently than they do in the states, but i personally know two fbi negotiators and i wouldn't wish that stress on anyone! i definitely wouldn't call it a diplomatic role here.

 

[pomeline]

Not the first time I've read this, but which war trauma? He was no soldier and never saw action. He worked for the Iraqi Institute of Peace in Baghdad, mediated conflicts and occasionally helped negotiate the release of hostages. He was essentially a diplomat.

Here's some details from the time he lived in Baghdad:

During his three years in Baghdad there were few days when Thomas Kingston's life was not in danger, but his work as a hostage negotiator undoubtedly saved lives.

Mr Kingston, having worked almost three years in war-ravaged Iraq to mediate conflicts and negotiate hostage releases, was hailed by Rev White as his “best ever intern”.

“I worked with Tom in all sorts of dangerous places. Most of the time we were there in the middle of war zones”, he said, adding he was “a risk-taker and a person of great faith”.

He said: “Tom wasn't a yellow-belly. He was never scared. I could never say to him 'do this' and he'd say it was too dangerous. He was always willing to be there.”

Tributes have now been paid to the financier, who during his previous career with the Foreign Office was posted to Iraq before volunteering with British clergyman Canon Andrew White.

He narrowly avoided a terrorist attack on St George's, the country's only Anglican church, in 2004.

'Tom worked with me in Iraq through the worst of the Iraq War,' Dr White said today.

Among the most common tales that flittered around Kingston were those from his three action-packed years spent in war-torn Iraq.

Serving in the diplomatic missions unit of the Foreign Office in Baghdad, Kingston had countless brushes with death, including escaping a suicide-bombing that claimed 22 lives.

Sent to Baghdad, he was seconded as a project manager for the International Centre for Reconciliation, which is based at Coventry Cathedral, to mediate in disputes between political, religious and tribal leaders and to negotiate the release of hostages.

His work with Canon White, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, helped maintain the Anglican Church in Baghdad, which was established in 1990.
'We built up a huge following, hundreds of whom I baptised as children and who have relocated to Jordan. Tom helped me.'

The church was in a former palace of Saddam Hussein's and the pulpit one of his thrones.

'Those were good times,' recalled the clergyman. 'I think Tom would agree and we have stayed in touch by phone and email since.'

Both men were in the church when it was targeted in a suicide-bomb attack in 2004.

They had walked in just before the blast, which killed two of the congregation and 20 others.

In light of his tragic death, Canon Andrew told The Telegraph: “We survived several suicide bomb attacks [...] We were regularly caught up in IED [improvised explosive device] attacks. Cars would blow up in front of us and we would just move on. We were always together and had 35 armed guards at all times,” recalled Canon White.
“The thing about Tom was he was never scared. Whatever I asked him to do he would do it with a big smile on his face in the middle of a war zone.”

There's not a whole lot of detailed information but based on all that, I'd say he definitely saw action and had traumatic experiences while in Iraq.

 

[pomeline]

Isn't this the official channel of BRF? 🤔



Very surprising if it is since they're being so honest. And someone is cutting onions 😭💔

 

[Cavalier Girl]

Mental health is such a personal journey. I suspect even his closest family will never truly understand what made him decide to end his life.

 

[elvisfan4life]

Mental health is such a personal journey. I suspect even his closest family will never truly understand what made him decide to end his life.

Extremely traumatising for his parents - to lunch with them then disappear knowing one or both of them was likely to find him - he spared Gabrielle but his poor poor parents

 

[pukasonqo]

Thomas Kingston, husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, died with gun found next to body

Kingston, 45, was found dead in an outbuilding at his parent’s home in the Cotswolds on Sunday evening

www.independent.co.uk

 

[QueenofWrapDress]

Extremely traumatising for his parents - to lunch with them then disappear knowing one or both of them was likely to find him - he spared Gabrielle but his poor poor parents

I think I'd have to sell the house.

 

[pomeline]

I think I'd have to sell the house.

I wonder where Ella will live now. They had just put their flat in Notting Hill on the market as they were planning on moving elsewhere to a bigger place. I don't know if they had already bought a place or not. Of course she can take the flat off the market but does she want to live there?

 

[CobaltBlu]

Oh my goodness just catching up with this, how awful. May be rest in peace. That family must be gutted.