Lady Gabriella Windsor’s poignant new role, a year after husband’s death

Lady Gabriella Windsor has taken on a new role a year after the tragic death of her husband Thomas Kingston.

The British royal has been named the new patron of the charity Restore the Music which works to support music departments in state schools across the UK.

Of her new patronage, Lady Gabriella, 43, said: “Music can do so much to help build confidence, imagination and social skills – all of which are, I believe, essential to learning.

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“On a recent visit to a school served by Restore the Music I was dazzled by the student performances, Rachmaninoff on piano, jazz saxophone, drums and Spanish guitar,” she continued. “They transported us to another place – far from a school classroom. What a stunning snapshot of talent, teaching and world class instruments, funded by Restore the Music.”

Lady Gabriella ended by saying it was “such an honour to serve as Patron to this exceptional charity which creates opportunities for children to thrive through the power of music”.

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Lady Gabriella reportedly collaborated with the organisation after she was asked by the Princess of Wales for assistance with her Christmas carols event in December.

Music has played an important role in Lady Gabriella’s life with the royal previously working with the Playing for Change Foundation, releasing jazz music under the name Ella Windsor.

Lady Gabriella wed husband Thomas Kingston in 2019 with the royal family and stars such as Anne Hathaway attending.

Lady Gabriella is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. She has slowly been returning to public life following her tragic loss, joining the royals for the King’s Birthday Parade in 2024, opening day of Royal Ascot and the Princess of Wales’ Christmas event.

Kingston died by suicide in February 2024 at age 45. His death came just three months before what would have been their fifth wedding anniversary.

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His parents Martin and Jill Kingston spoke out about their son’s death earlier this year, describing their “great pain and grief”.

They said they wanted their son to be remembered for the “big smile on his face”.

Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, ruled in December that Kingston had been “suffering adverse effects” due to medication he had recently been prescribed to deal with insomnia and anxiety.

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She said people taking antidepressants should be warned of the risk of suicide.

His parents told The Telegraph in the UK they wanted to speak about their “horrendous experience” in order to address “the level of both misinformation and no information” about antidepressants.

“The desire to ensure that other lives are saved and other people are kept from the pain and grief that we’ve experienced is a very strong one in us,” his father said.

“We wouldn’t be able to be comfortable reading about somebody else going through what we’ve been through, if we had not made clear what we think could happen to save someone’s life and save someone’s grief,” he added.

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Lady Gabriella said in a witness statement that she believed her husband killed himself on a “sudden impulse” prompted by a cocktail of sleep and anxiety drugs.

She said she wanted his death to act as a warning to others.

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