NQI Analysis: Thomas Kingston, UK (25.02.2024)
NQI Analysis: Thomas Kingston, UK (25.02.2024)
With everything to look forward to and married into royalty, why would Thomas Kingston take his life, after a lunch with his parents? Was it connected to his Foreign Office service in Iraq?
Who is Thomas Kingston?
At the time of his death, Thomas Kingston, was just 45-years old, a successful financier, philanthropist, and co-owner of Devonport Capital, which specialises in ‘frontier territory’ banking. His company approved CV had a hint about his previous life with the Foreign Office.
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1. Does the situation meet the FDA Blackbox warning rule: ‘BEHAVIOUR THAT IS UNUSUAL?’
YES. As described by The Guardian when the inquest finalised just a week after his death. Thomas Kingston died from ‘traumatic head wound’ and gun found, inquest told. Excerpt:
“These brief circumstances are as follows: Mr Kingston was visiting his parents’ home in the Cotswolds. On 25 February 2024 he ate lunch with his parents. His father went out to walk the dogs. On his return, Mr Kingston was not in the house, and after approximately 30 minutes his mother went to look for him. His father forced entry on a locked outbuilding when no reply could be gained.
“He found Mr Kingston deceased with a catastrophic head injury. A gun was present at the scene. Emergency services were called. Police are satisfied the death is not suspicious. A postmortem has been undertaken by Dr Jones, a consultant histopathologist, and a provisional cause of death has been given as a traumatic wound to head.”
The coroner said she was satisfied with identification, initial cause of death and the brief circumstances surrounding Kingston’s death, and adjourned proceedings to a date yet to be fixed.
A quick scan reveals: An English aristocrat, married to a near Princess, no obvious monetary issues (*caveat), no history of mental illness (quite the opposite, in fact) but an interesting employment history which commences in Iraq back in 2003.
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2. Was the person(s) exposed to antimalarials. If YES… what type, duration and were there multiple exposures?
POSSIBLE
Mefloquine (Lariam) was the drug of choice for US and UK forces in Iraq during the early phases of the war. Thomas served in Iraq between 2003 – 2006 starting with the Foreign Office which would have had similar health protocols as Defence. So, he was most likely taking mefloquine, weekly, for the entire time and potentially without issue. I was able to confirm that mefloquine was still being recommended to travellers in the British Medical Journal in 2004 although care should be given in prescribing mefloquine given its ‘potential contraindications and serious side effects’.
It is also possible that he took some other antimalarial or none at all. Multiple exposures to antimalarials should also be considered, given his role in ‘frontier financing’.
Antimalarial quinoline exposure has not been proven but on a reasonable balance of probabilities it is certainly possible.
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3. How was the person(s) mental health?
There were no indications of mental health issues in Thomas Kingston’s life
Not only were there no indications of mental health issues prior to his suicide, he attended a society function on the 14th February, a Wednesday. He would take his own life the following Sunday. The Tatler even noted their presence in the write-up: Marriage of true minds: Queen attends star-studded Shakespeare celebration while King recuperates at home. Excerpt:
According to every report that I have read on Thomas Kingston, he was a solid but ‘quiet’ achiever who was even described as the ‘last perfect gentleman’. Happily married, he was described as ‘chatty’ at the Shakespeare celebration on the fortnight prior to his death.
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4. Were there any confounding variables?
YES. Multiple
Multiple exposures to blast injuries (which exacerbates Neuropsychiatric Quinism).
I found this insight buried in one of the many obituaries. Via The Standard.
“Tom is one of the most remarkable people I have ever worked with and I would have him back at my side tomorrow, if he would come,” Canon Andrew said of Kingston while he was still alive. “Tom has a fierce determination to make things succeed and great insight into what makes humans tick, both good and bad. He uses those to see beyond the impossible and get through to the other side.”
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.”
Following on from his time at the Foreign Office, Kingston joined the Iraqi Institute of Peace as a project officer from 2003 to 2006. The Times reports that Kingston “developed a reputation as a talented young diplomat and a devout Christian” during his time there, and worked tirelessly to help Iraqi Christians rebuild their lives in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror.
Other variables:
Exposure to warzones: Thomas Kingston was deployed to Iraq over a long period of time in addition to his role in ‘frontier financing’.
Possible moral injury: One of the big losers of the Gulf War Mk II were the Christians of Baghdad. Moral injury impacts people differently.
No hint of marital issues: Lady Gabriella is apparently living in Kensington Palace and devastated by her unexpected loss.
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5. Was there a specific clinical event or trigger?
NO. None at all, which is weird?
Perhaps something will drop at a later stage that might explain from going to chatty to suicidal. As I review this blog in early June 2024 there is nothing to explain his final actions.
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6. Other considerations?
YES
The inexplicable urge to suicide
The circumstances of the suicide might follow a similar pattern of behaviour reported by many sufferers of Neuropsychiatric Quinism. You just wake up or get up from dinner and the next thing you are either hanging from a wall or pulling a shotgun out of the gun locker. No one can explain it…
An expeditious inquest
The inquest into Thomas Kingston was very, very, expeditious. Just a comment
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ASSESSMENT
POSSIBLE. Close to probable but…
There is enough evidence to support a theory that Thomas Kingston had Neurocognitive Quinism.
Iraq deployments in the early phase of the war when the US inexplicably prescribed their troops with mefloquine mean that Thomas had both motive/access to this drug. It was most likely Foreign Office policy that he took mefloquine (although I have not been able to independently verify antimalarial advice for UK staff at that time).
He may have been exposed to multiple antimalarials during this ‘frontier financing’ role. You would expect he would have worked in Africa at some stage. All a bit commercial-in-confidence.
Blast injuries are a significant confounding factor.
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My thoughts to Lady Gabriella and to the family of Thomas Kington.
To the Lost.
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UPDATES
2.06.2024: Reviewed/Updated: Headline name amended. Major rewrite utilising the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine approach to reviewing mefloquine related deaths (2017). References updated
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REFERENCES
Cursino, M (2.03.2024) Thomas Kingston died from traumatic head wound, inquest hears [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68449923] BBC. Page accessed 9.04.2024
Devonport Capital (2024) Devonport Capital [https://devonportcapital.com/] Page accessed 9.04.2024
Johnston, H (17.05.2024) ‘Everyone hopes that Ella will attend the celebrations’: Lady Gabriella Windsor is invited to Trooping the Colour by the King as the royal family rallies around her following the death of her husband Thomas Kingston [https://www.tatler.com/article/lady-gabriella-windsor-trooping-the-colour-invitation-king-charles#intcid=recommendations_tatler-bottom-recirc-v4_65254a6a-c095-4a44-b819-0a85ac946bbd_similar2-3] The Tatler. Page accessed 2.06.2024
MacLean, D.S. (2014) The Answer to the Riddle is Me. A tale of Amnesia. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Mussen, M (2.03.2024) Thomas Kingston: the remarkable life of the 'relentlessly optimistic' royal found dead at 45 [https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/thomas-kingston-death-prince-william-kate-middleton-pippa-harry-b1142020.html] The Standard. Page accessed 9.04.2024
News.com.au (28.02.2024) Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband Thomas suddenly dies, Buckingham Palace announces [https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/lady-gabriella-windsors-husband-thomas-suddenly-dies-buckingham-palace-announces/news-story/0bc3decf02462898fb730a355445148a] News.com. Page accessed 9.04.2024
New York Times (28.02.2024) Inside Thomas Kingston’s final days with wife Lady Gabriella Windsor before his tragic death at age 45 [https://nypost.com/2024/02/28/entertainment/thomas-kingstons-final-days-before-death-with-wife-lady-gabriella-revealed/] Page accessed 9.04.2024
The Guardian (2.03.2024) Thomas Kingston died from ‘traumatic head wound’ and gun found, inquest told [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/01/thomas-kingston-died-from-traumatic-head-wound-and-gun-found-inquest-told] Page accessed 9.04.2024
Tickell-Painter M, Saunders R, Maayan N, Lutje V, Mateo-Urdiales A, Garner P (2017) Deaths and parasuicides associated with mefloquine chemoprophylaxis: A systemic review. Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases. DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2017.10.011
Wikipedia (2024) Quinism [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinism] Page accessed 19.01.2024
Zamet, I (16.02.2024) Marriage of true minds: Queen attends star-studded Shakespeare celebration while King recuperates at home [https://www.tatler.com/article/queen-camilla-shakespeare-judi-dench-brian-cox-king-charles-iii] The Tatler. Page accessed 2.06.2024
Zamet, I (28.02.2024) Who was Thomas Kingston? A Christian, diplomat, financier and an ‘exceptional’ man [https://www.tatler.com/article/who-was-thomas-kingston-lady-gabriella-windsor] The Tatler. Page accessed 9.04.2024
Zamet, I (13.03.2024) Thomas Kingston is laid to rest: Mourners, led by Lady Gabriella Windsor and Prince William, attend a private funeral at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace [https://www.tatler.com/article/thomas-kingston-funeral-lady-gabriella-windsor] The Tatler. Page accessed 9.04.2024
Zuckerman JN (7.08.2004) Preventing malaria in UK travellers [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC506842/] BMJ. 329(7461):305-6. doi: 10.1136/bmj.329.7461.305. PMID: 15297324; PMCID: PMC506842. Page accessed 2.06.2024