A cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry has been found dead at her family home, an inquest has heard.
20-year-old Rosie Roche - who was the granddaughter of Princess Diana’s uncle – was found dead on July 14th. She was discovered by her mother, Pippa, and her sister, Agatha, at the family’s Wiltshire home, where she was said to have been packing for a trip away with friends. A firearm was found at the scene.
During the inquest hearing at Wiltshire and Swindon coroner’s court, area coroner Grant Davis said police ‘have deemed the death as non-suspicious and there was no third-party involvement.’ The inquest has been adjourned until October 25.
At the time of her death, Rosie was studying for a degree in English Literature at Durham University. Professor Wendy Powers, Principal of Durham’s University College, said, ‘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.’
Rosie was the daughter of Edmund ‘Hugh’ Burke Roche and Pippa Long, with an obituary placed in the family’s local newspaper reading, ‘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.’
Rosie was the granddaughter of the 5th Baron Fermoy, Edmund Roche, whose sister Frances was the mother of Princess Diana. Born on June 21, 2005, she was raised in the countryside village of Malmesbury, before moving to Yorkshire for university. Before Durham, Rosie had attended St Mary Calne - a private boarding school in Wiltshire who counts the likes of Olympic dressage rider Laura Tomlinson and novelist Sara Maitland among their alumni. Taking a gap year before her studies, Rosie also travelled to Zimbabwe with a programme called Africagap.
The dog-loving student was said to have been active at university, with reports saying she had helped to set up a service called Unidog – connecting Durham students with local dogs. ‘The aim here is to hopefully get any local Durham dog owners who are interested in quickly getting in touch with university students who are homesick for their pets,’ a post read.
It's not known whether Rosie had any relationship with her older cousins, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Rosie’s death comes after Thomas Kingston – who married Harry and William’s cousin Lady Gabriella in 2019 – died at the age of 45 in February last year. The financier suffered from a ‘traumatic head wound,’ with a gun found near to his body in an outbuilding at his parents home in the Cotswolds. An inquest heard police were satisfied that his death was not suspicious.