The policeman in charge of security for the Duchess of Cornwall had been suffering from “domestic problems” before apparently shooting himself with a rifle, an inquest was told yesterday.

Sergeant Richard Fuller, 55, was found dead in his bed by friends on Monday. The hearing was told that his wife Jill, 45, had asked them to visit the family home, a cottage in Bremhill, near Calne, Wiltshire, after receiving a text message from her husband.

Douglas Hills, the coroner’s officer, said: “Mr Fuller is believed to have had some domestic problems in the last few weeks. Following receipt of a text message, his wife contacted friends who went to Mr Fuller’s home and found him dead from gunshot wounds. Police are satisfied that there were no suspicious circumstances or third parties involved.”

A postmortem examination conducted by Lawrence John, a consultant pathologist, found that Sergeant Fuller died from head injuries due to rifle discharge.

The inquest at Salisbury was adjourned until a date to be fixed by David Masters, the Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon.

The Duchess and the Prince of Wales were told of the death while they were on board the yacht Leander sailing in the Caribbean this week.

The armed response officer lived with his wife and their three children, Daniel, 19, who is understood to be serving in the Armed Forces in Iraq, Jennifer, 21, and Stephanie, 18.

Sergeant Fuller, who spent 29 years in the force, was in charge of security at Ray Mill House, the Duchess’s six-bedroom country home. She bought the property, set in 27 acres, for £850,000 after her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles in 1996.

Despite rarely staying there, she insisted on a round-the-clock team of armed officers, which was led by Sergeant Fuller, and which cost the taxpayer £2.6 million.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: “The officer was a highly regarded member of the force and will be sadly missed by his colleagues and friends in Wiltshire Police. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this time.”

Sergeant Fuller and his family moved to the cottage six years ago. He was Wiltshire Police’s chief firearms instructor. In 1995, he received a Crown Court commendation for arresting a man armed with a shotgun who was threatening a colleague.

In 2001, he received a long-service and good conduct medal.

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