A CORONER has revealed the cause of death of the 20-year-old cousin of Princes William and Harry.
Rosie Roche, the granddaughter of Princess Diana’s uncle, was discovered dead by her mum and sister at her family home on July 14.
Rosie was found with a firearm near her at the property in Norton, Wiltshire.
The English Literature student was discovered in the house after she had been packing to go away with friends.
Opening an inquest at Wiltshire and Swindon coroner’s court, area coroner Grant Davies confirmed that a post-mortem had been carried out.
Revealing the cause of death, Mr Davies said that Rosie had died from a gunshot wound to her head.
He added: “Rosie was getting ready to go away with friends and was packing her belongings at home.
“Philippa, her mum, and Agatha, her sister, were outside and then they returned inside the home address.
“Upon checking the office in the house, Agatha found Rosie deceased and she was slumped over a firearm with significant head trauma.
“The ambulance attended and confirmed the death at 1.22pm that day.
“Police attended and have deemed the death as non-suspicious and there was no third-party involvement.
“A post-mortem was carried out by Dr Harry Haynes from Great Western Hospital and provided the cause of death as being destruction of intercranial contents and discharge from a firearm.”
The inquest has now been adjourned until October 25.
Mr Davies added: “Again, as stated, and confirmation that blood and urine has been sent for toxicological analysis.
“I’m now going to adjourn this inquest in order to gather pertinent evidence in this case.
“I will adjourn the matter to October 23 for a pre-inquest review on that date.”
Her family paid tribute in a death notification, writing: “Darling daughter of Hugh and Pippa, incredible sister to Archie and Agatha, Granddaughter to Derek and Rae Long.”
Rosie had been studying English Literature at Durham University.
Professor Wendy Powers, Principal of Durham’s University College, said: “University College staff and students are extremely saddened by the tragic death of Rosie Roche.
“Rosie was a first-year student studying for an English Literature degree. 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.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with Rosie’s family and friends, and we are offering support to those affected at this extremely difficult time”.
It comes after Thomas Kingston, husband of Harry and William’s cousin Lady Gabriella Kingston, died from a head injury, with a gun found nearby, in February 2024.
Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, had recorded a narrative verdict and said Mr Kingston had taken his own life.
Both Rosie’s family and a spokesman for Prince William declined to comment.
You’re Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123
