Royal Tragedy: Body Of Rosie Roche, Cousin To Prince William and Harry, Found Next To Gun By Mother And Sister

Rosie Roche, cousin to Prince William and Prince Harry, died on 14 July at her family home in Wiltshire.

She was the granddaughter of Princess Diana's Uncle.

The 20-year-old's mother and sister found her body along with a firearm after she'd been packing to go on holiday with friends, The Sun reported.

At an inquest 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.'

Parallels have been made between Rosie's death and that of Thomas Kingston, husband to Lady Gabriella Windsor, who was also found with a gun near his body in February 2024.

How Was Rosie Connected To The Royal Family?

Rosie's lineage goes back to the Spencer-Roche branch on Princess Diana's maternal side. The Sun described them as 'a prominent family with longstanding connections to the Royal household.'

Edmund Roche, the fifth Baron Fermoy, was the uncle of Princess Diana and Rosie's grandfather.

Another royal member, Thomas Kingston, was found dead by family, similarly to Rosie, with a firearm near his body.

Thomas was married to William and Harry's cousin, Lady Gabriella Windsor and died at age 45 by suicide after struggling with antidepressants.

Family Shares Obituary

Rosie's family placed an obituary in the Yorkshire Post on 19 July.

'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,' the obituary read.

Well-wishers shared their condolences beneath the notice.

'May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow,' one person wrote.

'so sorry for your loss sending prayers for her family and friends may her life be remember with happy thoughts and sweet memories till we meet again one day in heaven. Amen,' someone said.

'May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief,' another shared.

Who Was Rosie Roche?

Rosie Roche was a dog lover and English Literature student at Durham University.

She had just completed the first year of her degree after graduating from St Mary's Calne, a private day and boarding school in Wiltshire.

In between school and university, she travelled to Zimbabwe on a gap year with a programme called Africagap.

Rosie set up a service called Unidog while at university, which aimed to connect students with local dogs.

'We all miss our dogs. The aim here is to hopefully get any local Durham dog owners who are interested in quickly getting in touch with uni students who are homesick for their pets,' an Instagram post for the Unidog account reads.

'University College staff and students are extremely saddened by the tragic death of Rosie Roche,' Professor Wendy Powers, Principal of Durham's University College, told The Sun.

'Rosie had settled into the University and College beautifully and had lots of friends.

'She was loved for her creativity, energy, her love of books, poetry and travel among many other talents. She will be sorely missed,' she added.