Princess Beatrice’s ex boyfriend Paolo Liuzzo dies of drug overdose in Miami hotel room leaving royal heartbroken
PRINCESS Beatrice was just 17 when she started dating her tragic first love Paolo Liuzzo in 2005.
His shock death from a suspected overdose in a Miami hotel came as insiders said he’d struggled with drugs and racked up debts with loan sharks over his gambling.
Beatrice was told the news just weeks after her mum Sarah Ferguson was diagnosed with skin cancer.
Her dad Prince Andrew has been cast out by the royals over his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Liuzzo had repeated run-ins with the law throughout his life, including over the death of a student and possession of cocaine.
Officer Michael Vega, of the Miami Police Department, told The Sun that police attended a room at the citizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel at 3.22pm on February 7.
Liuzzo’s time of death was given as 3.34pm.
The cause has not been publicly disclosed due to Florida public records law.
His death certificate states that he had been working as an art industry consultant and had never married.
He was listed as living at an apartment not far from the hotel.
His body was flown back to his native Long Island, New York, for a funeral on February 16.
Officer Vega said: “It was investigated as an overdose death. The investigation is open and ongoing.”
A longtime pal of Liuzzo told The Sun: “Paolo was not doing great on a personal level. He loved to party and to gamble.
“He began using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs at first but that later led to cocaine and harder drugs.
“It was a very fast lifestyle and we all feared it would catch up with him eventually.”
The friend added: “He was always borrowing money to pay off old loans. It became a vicious cycle.”
Liuzzo and Beatrice’s relationship was revealed after he was invited on her family’s ski holiday in Verbier, Switzerland, in February 2006.
Four years earlier he had been charged with the manslaughter of a student during a drunken brawl in Massachusetts.
The charge had later been downgraded to assault and battery, and Liuzzo only served a 100-hour community service sentence.
Regardless, Fergie gave the couple’s relationship the thumbs up, saying: “We all have our own journeys and have to learn our way but Beatrice is a sensible girl, soon to be 18, with many friends including Paolo.”
But the publicity surrounding his royal romance led to him being hauled back to the US for flouting the conditions of his probation, since he was only allowed to travel abroad for work.
He had his three-year probation extended by six months as punishment and Beatrice publicly ended the romance.
Paolo later said: “It was a stupid fist fight and if I had gone to trial, my lawyers were certain I’d have been found innocent.
“But if it came out that me and Bea were dating, it wouldn’t be good for her image or Sarah’s so everyone was trying to keep our relationship a secret.”
After the split he claimed Bea and Eugenie had attended a 2004 party in Jamaica where guests smoked cannabis and took magic mushrooms.
And later cruelly dismissed his relationship, with Bea, saying: “I wasn’t sure I wanted to get in that deep with Bea. I loved her but I wasn’t in love with her.”
The cad added: “Sometimes another lady friend of mine would come over to my place at Eaton Square in London. It was just messing around, never anything more, and I felt so bad afterwards because of Bea.
“I’m not a bad person. But it’s like putting heroin in front of Pete Doherty. Women are my weakness.”
In September 2009 Liuzzo was arrested on Australia’s Gold Coast after crashing his Audi hire car into traffic lights.
The then 27-year-old had failed to pay for accommodation and restaurant bills at a casino.
He was charged with motoring offences fraud and cocaine possession.
He pleaded guilty and was fined £2,600.
No conviction was recorded but the magistrate blasted Liuzzo for his “cavalier” attitude to the court.
Public records show in recent years he had had several brushes with the law over driving offences.
Liuzzo is understood to have inherited a fortune after his dad, Italian plastic resin tycoon Nico Liuzzo died aged 62 in September 2001.
After her split from Liuzzo, Beatrice spent most of her 20s dating Virgin Galactic executive Dave Clark.
Fergie issued her approval for their coupling, saying: “I call him Mr Smiley because he smiles and he’s happy. I love Dave.”
How will the Paolo's death affect Beatrice?
By Matt Wilkinson
The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson breaks down Beatrice’s tumultuous romance with the American playboy.
The senior journalist also offers insight into how his death will affect the princess.
“Princess Beatrice is now a happy, contented career-driven mother of one who is married to a suave and dashing property developer, but the path of love has not always run smooth.
“The young princess’s first love was New Yorker, Paolo Liuzzo, who not only was seven years her senior, but acted less than gentlemanly after their split.
“A 17-year-old Beatrice, then fourth in line to the throne, met Paolo in Jamaica. The 24-year-old joined the York family on their traditional ski trip and whisked the teenage princess to Paris.
“But young love came crashing down within a year when it emerged Paolo was wanted back in the US to explain to a judge why he had breached parole terms by holidaying in the Alps.
“In fact, Paolo’s story was a drama the royal family could do without. He had been charged with manslaughter after a student died in a fistfight, but later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
“After they split, he failed to cover himself in glory by speaking of Beatrice saying ‘I loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her’ and spoke of cheating on the young princess when they were dating.
“The nature of Paolo’s death will shock Beatrice, but she has proved that after a love life of many twists and turns, it’s possible to find love and happy life within the royal family.”
Beatrice enrolled on a finance course in San Francisco to be close to her boyfriend after he got a job at Uber.
Despite whispers of wedding bells marriage never happened and they split by mutual agreement after ten years, in 2016.
Single Bea was then pictured with fitness trainer James Williams and CNBC host Wilfred Frost, son of journalist David Frost.
But each time suggestions of romance were shot down.
In 2018 she was confirmed to be dating Edo Mapelli Mozzi, a property developer and member of the Italian nobility.
Edo, who had a son from a former relationship, swept Beatrice off her feet and proposed marriage.
The pandemic meant they cancelled plans for a wedding at St James’s Palace, in May 2020.
Instead, they enjoyed an intimate Covid-safe wedding in July 2020, witnessed by only a handful of guests including the late Queen and Prince Philip at All Saints Chapel, Windsor.
They now have homes in London and Oxfordshire, where Edo was raised.
Liuzzo’s siblings Annalisa and Roberto Liuzzo did not respond to requests for comment on their brother’s death.
The Sun also asked the hotel for comment but did not hear back.