Rosie Roche dead: Family mourn 'darling' cousin of Prince William and Harry
The parents of Rosie Roche, the tragic cousin of Princes William and Harry, have paid an emotional tribute to their "darling" daughter.
The 20-year-old was discovered dead at her family residence in Norton, Wiltshire. Rosie, who was studying English Literature at Durham University, was reportedly preparing for a getaway with friends when her mother and sister made the heartbreaking find on July 14. A firearm was found at the scene.
She was the daughter of Edmund (Hugh) Burke Roche and Pippa Long, who are mourning the devastating loss. The family, who have strong ties to the British aristocracy, have described her an "incredible" sister to Archie and Agatha as they come to terms with the heartbreaking news.
An obituary placed in the Yorkshire Post by the family reads: " Roche, Rosie Jeanne Burke Died on Monday 14th July 2025. Darling daughter of Hugh and Pippa, incredible sister to Archie and Agatha, Granddaughter to Derek and Rae Long. Private family funeral. A memorial service will be held at a later date."
During an inquest hearing at Wiltshire and Swindon coroner's court, area coroner Grant Davies said police 'have deemed the death as non-suspicious and there was no third-party involvement'. Rosie was working towards obtaining a degree in English Literature at Durham University during the time of her death. A spokeswoman said she 'will be sorely missed'. The inquest has been adjourned until October 25.
Ms Roche's death comes after Thomas Kingston, who married Harry and William's cousin Lady Gabriella in 2019, died in February last year aged just 45 with a firearm next to him. The financier suffered a "traumatic head wound", and a gun was found near to his body in an outbuilding at his parents home in the Cotswolds, an inquest opening at Gloucestershire Coroners Court heard. Police said they were satisfied the death was not suspicious.
He and Lady Gabriella didn't seem to have any relationship or money troubles, a family friend told The Times - while another close friend shared that Mr Kingston always put others first, which might have affected his own mental health.
The former financier, who studied economic history at Bristol University, had numerous brushes with death - the most notable being a suicide bombing at the church in 2004, which claimed 22 lives.
Reflecting on the event, Reverend Canon Andrew White, who ran the only Anglican church in Baghdad, Iraq, where Mr Kingston reportedly spent time as a hostage negotiator, said: 'We couldn't move, and I can remember saying 'What do we do Tom?'
'And he said, 'Pray'. I said, 'Lord, have mercy on us' and suddenly a huge oil tanker about 25 metres ahead of us blew up. If we hadn't been in the traffic jam, we would have been killed instantly. But this was a kind of daily thing that happened.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
M&S handed mobile ad ban after using 'unhealthily thin' model
An advert by Marks & Spencer has been banned because of the model's appearance (Image: PA) A Marks and Spencer advert has been banned after the featured model was judged to be "unhealthily thin". The UK's advertising watchdog has ruled that it was "irresponsible" for M&S to use the image in question to promote its clothing on its mobile app. The Advertising Standards Authority criticised the ad, stating that the model, dressed in slim-fit trousers and a white top, "appeared thin and she wore large pointed shoes which emphasised the slenderness of her legs". The ASA's decision also noted that the camera angles made the model's head seem disproportionate and "highlighted her small frame". The ASA concluded: "Therefore, we considered that the pose of the model and the choice of clothing meant the ad gave the impression that the model was unhealthily thin". The company is still recovering from a damaging cyber attack (Image: PA) In response to the ban, Marks and Spencer expressed regret for any upset caused and promptly withdrew the image. A spokesperson for the company commented: "Our womenswear sizing ranges from size 8 to 24 and we always want to reflect that in our advertising." They continued: "The product images on our website feature models of varying sizes so we can appeal to all our customers, however following the ASA guidance, we have removed this particular image from our website and apologise for any offence caused." While three additional images were brought to the attention of the ASA by concerned consumers, the authority did not find these to be in violation, thus no further action against the retailer was taken. It comes as four people have been arrested by police investigating the M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks. The arrests include three teenagers - a 17-year-old British man from the West Midlands, a 19-year-old Latvian man from the West Midlands, a 19-year-old British man from London - and a 20-year-old British woman from Staffordshire. The individuals were detained on suspicion of blackmail, money laundering, offences linked to the Computer Misuse Act and participating in the activities of an organised crime group. All four people remain in custody. Paul Foster, head of the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, said: 'Since these attacks took place, specialist NCA cybercrime investigators have been working at pace and the investigation remains one of the agency's highest priorities. 'Today's arrests are a significant step in that investigation but our work continues, alongside partners in the UK and overseas, to ensure those responsible are identified and brought to justice.' M&S was forced to shut down its online store following the cyber attack, which happened during Easter weekend and affected contactless payments in stores, as well as click and collect orders. It was later confirmed that customer data, including names, email addresses, addresses and dates of birth - but it does not include card or payment details, was stolen. The boss of M&S last week issued an update, and said the rest of its online operations will reopen by next month. The supermarket started resuming online orders in June but some services are still not back to normal. For example, you still cannot place an order for click and collect or next day delivery. M&S is also still is not delivering to Northern Ireland. Stuart Machin, CEO of M&S, expects these services to be fully restored from August. Speaking to shareholders at the retailer's annual general meeting, he said: "Since these attacks took place, specialist NCA cybercrime investigators have been working at pace and the investigation remains one of the Agency's highest priorities.
Daily Record
8 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Prince Andrew 'should be fearful' as Ghislaine Maxwell agrees chat with Trump officials
Jailed British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has agreed to speak with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in what sources say is a bid by Donald Trump to recover control of the scandal. Prince Andrew has been told he should be 'extremely fearful' as Ghislaine Maxwell has agreed to meet with Donald Trump's top legal officials. The disgraced British socialite has agreed to speak with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about Jeffrey Epstein in a meet-up behind bars. Sources say it is a desperate bid by the US president to recover control of the spiralling scandal. The move has led famed US attorney Alan Dershowitz to believe the meeting could lead to Maxwell's release. As reported in the Mirror, he said: 'She's going to make a deal. That's the way things are done. They make deals with the mafia, so I'm certain they are going to try to make a deal with her.' A separate legal expert explained that a meeting with Blanche also presents an opportunity for Maxwell to potentially lessen her sentence. It would be in exchange for spilling secrets about her and Epstein's life - which she has closely guarded since his death. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year term for sex trafficking underage girls for her late husband. She is the only person to be convicted in the case. The meeting, due to take place within days at Maxwell's Florida prison, marks a dramatic turning point in the case. For years, Maxwell, who is currently being held in a Florida prison, has refused to cooperate with authorities. But with 12 years left of her sentence behind bars, she is prepared to talk. Her knowledge will send shockwaves through the elite inner circle that once surrounded Epstein before his jail cell suicide in 2019. Many believe Maxwell, 63, could offer explosive details in exchange for a commuted sentence. One victim believes Prince Andrew is 'close to the top of the list' of those whom Maxwell has the most information on. She said: 'She had a front-row seat to the Duke's relationship with Jeffrey. If Ghislaine thinks her old pal Donald Trump might give her a pardon or commute her sentence, she could now very well talk. For someone who refused to the FBI when asked, Prince Andrew should be extremely fearful of that. Given her knowledge of his friendship with Jeffrey, he must be close to the top of the list of men who should now be anxious.' The victim made clear she did not believe there would be any more allegations made against Andrew, saying all claims against him 'had already been heard.' However, she added: 'It is not about allegations; I think they have been exhausted. It's about the details of the friendship. Questions like how they met, how often they met, and where they met? Ghislaine was there for all of them. She has such information. 'And of course, it's not just Andrew she has knowledge of, it's the countless others, too. She knows everyone in Epstein's circle. If she were to start talking, Trump would think nothing of throwing some of them under the bus in order to save himself.' Andrew infamously refused to speak to the FBI. In 2020, when he was the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman made the extremely rare decision to blast the Duke publicly. Berman claimed that despite public statements to the contrary, the royal had "repeatedly declined" requests to schedule an interview. Andrew's legal team denied his claims, insisting that the Duke offered to assist authorities on at least three occasions. The DoJ's meeting with Maxwell comes just weeks after the Department of Justice announced it would not release any Epstein files - a move that has sparked outrage among survivors. In 2019, Virginia Giuffre, a former 'teen sex slave' of Epstein's, accused the royal of sexually abusing her on three occasions when she was 17 - claims he vehemently denied. Facing a civil lawsuit in New York, Andrew opted to settle out of court in early 2022, reportedly paying Giuffre £12 million. He issued no apology and continued to protest his innocence, insisting he had no memory of ever meeting her despite the now-infamous photo of them together with Maxwell grinning in the background. Legal experts warn that Maxwell should she provide prosecutors with credible evidence, even those who once believed themselves untouchable, including royalty, could find themselves under fresh scrutiny. Another victim said: 'She has nothing left to lose, and everything to gain. If she speaks, it could blow the lid off a cover-up that's lasted for decades.'
Daily Mirror
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Air India crash: Authorities claim victims in 'DNA mix-up' treated with 'utmost professionalism'
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had been bound for London Gatwick when it ploughed into a medical college close to Ahmedabad Airport in India. More than 240 people died in the crash Grieving families allegedly given the wrong remains of Air India crash victims have been told their loved ones were treated with "utmost professionalism" despite the mix-up. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Aviation lawyer James Healy-Pratt, whose firm Keystone Law is representing more than 20 British families who lost loved ones in the disaster, said relatives of one victim found out a casket contained 'co-mingled' remains, while a different family were told a coffin contained the body of someone else entirely, not their loved one. The Indian Interior Ministry has responded to the claims, stressing that the handling of the remains was done with the "utmost professionalism and respect". Mr Healy-Pratt, who is a partner at the firm, said the mistakes emerged after the 'sterling efforts' of senior coroner for Inner West London, Dr Fiona Wilcox, who 'picked up DNA anomalies' at the beginning of the repatriations. 'In the first two caskets that were repatriated, in one of the caskets, there was co-mingling of DNA which did not relate to the deceased in that casket or the casket that accompanied it and so that's what alerted her and her team to the fact there was a serious problem,' he told the PA news agency. 'My understanding was that the co-mingling was at the very beginning, which alerted Dr Wilcox to the fact that she had to be 100% assiduous about checking the identification of the incoming remains. 'She was then able to determine that one particular loved one was not at all who the family thought they were.' The Indian ministry spokesperson, Shri Randhir Jaiswal said: "We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention. In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements. "All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue." The family of three British victims who were buried in India after the crash said there was a 'clear lack of transparency and accountability' in how the identification and repatriation of victims was handled. Relatives of Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa said in a statement: 'Recent developments have only confirmed what many feared: that serious mistakes may have been made, and that the dignity and rights of victims and their families were not safeguarded as they should have been. 'In our case, we are confident that we received the correct bodies, based on the hospital's assurances, autopsy reports, their clothing and the personal belongings we recovered. 'But our concern now is not limited to ourselves. We are deeply troubled by what this means for other families who may still be searching for certainty and closure. 'This isn't just a personal tragedy; it is a collective one. And the mishandling of such a sensitive process speaks to a wider failure between the British and Indian authorities to act with care, co-ordination and respect.' It is understood no blame is being put on any UK agency for the blunders, Mr Healy-Pratt told the PA news agency. 'We know that they were not allowed anywhere near the DNA identification chain of custody link to the caskets,' he said. 'That was the Indian authorities, that's what we understand. 'But nobody's actually laid that out formally for families to look at and review, and that's what we want – explanations by the Indian government about who was in charge of that chain of custody, why were there the massive mistakes that were made and, the important thing, how do the families know that there aren't other remains of their loved ones in a fridge in an Indian hospital?' The lawyer said he believes the mistakes will be on the agenda for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 's talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Wednesday and Thursday. Mr Healy-Pratt added: 'Somebody has to take responsibility in India for this massive screw up and then they actually have to ensure that they can give proper assurances to the families that the job has been completed and done properly. 'The hierarchy of needs of these families in air crashes, it's always the same. The first thing they want is their loved ones back so they can say goodbye to them; the second thing is they want to know how their loved ones died; third thing, they want to prevent further deaths so that all depends on getting number two right; and then number four, it will be some form of financial justice.' His firm has demanded a written explanation from Air India, including on the involvement of their contractors Kenyon International Emergency Services. PA has approached Air India's parent company, the Tata Group, and Kenyon Emergency Services for comment, as well as No 10 and the Foreign Office. Mr Healy-Pratt understands 12 bodies have been repatriated to the UK. He is investigating the identification mistakes but is also tasked with representing families at inquests, investigating the causes of the accident, taking High Court legal action in England against Air India and taking action against Boeing in the US courts. Besides those on board AI171, another 19 people also died and 67 were seriously injured. The only surviving passenger on the plane was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who previously told The Sun it was a 'miracle' he was alive but felt 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay. A preliminary report into the incident from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the 'cut-off' position 'immediately' after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine. It has sparked questions over whether the crash was deliberate.
