The ex-boyfriend of Princess Beatrice was found dead in a hotel room. Details about Paolo Liuzzo's tragic passing have been released via news outlet reports.
The month of February saw members of the British royal family face a challenging time. Shortly after learning about her mother's skin cancer diagnosis, Princess Beatrice—daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York—found out about her ex's death.
Paolo Liuzzo, labeled by a media outlet as Princess Beatrice's "bad-boy first boyfriend," was found deceased in a Miami hotel room. He was 41 at the time of his passing.
According to reports, Paolo's death is believed to have been caused by a drug overdose as sources have said that the late art industry consultant had an issue with substances. They also reported that he had attained large amounts of gambling debts.
"Paolo was not doing great on a personal level. He loved to party and gamble [...] It was a very fast lifestyle and we all feared it would catch up with him eventually. He was always borrowing money to pay loans. It became a vicious cycle," disclosed a friend of his.
Miami Police Department Officer Michael Vega confirmed that police officials found Paolo at citizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel on February 7 at 3:22 p.m.
His time of death is listed as 3:34 p.m., and even though how he died is speculated to have been caused by an overdose, the exact cause has not been disclosed as a result of Florida records law. However, Officer Michael did share, "It was investigated as an overdose death. The investigation is open and ongoing."
Other details about Paolo, who never married, include the fact that, according to reports, he had been living in an apartment close to the hotel he was found dead at. On February 16, Paolo's body was flown back to Long Island, New York.
The New York native and Princess Beatrice began dating when he was 23 and she was 17, in 2005. However, it was only the next year that their relationship became publicized when Paolo joined Princess Beatrice and her family for a ski trip in Switzerland.
Before they pursued a romantic relationship, Paolo had lived quite a colorful life. He had been charged with the "fist fight death" of a Massachusetts student. Luckily though, the gravity of his charge was reduced to 100 hours of community service.
"It was a stupid fist fight and if I had gone to trial, my lawyers were certain I'd have been found innocent," Paolo previously said.
In an attempt to support Paolo and Princess Beatrice's burgeoning romance, the Princess' mom, Sarah Ferguson, previously expressed, "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."
However, far from helping de-escalate the situation, Sarah's comment led to the couple garnering even more publicity. With an extra spotlight placed on Paolo, he was taken back to the US for defying the terms of his probation.
The terms of this probation stipulated that Paolo was only allowed to travel abroad for work-related purposes. As a result of flouting his 3-year probation, it got extended by six months which then led to Princess Beatrice calling quits on their relationship publicly.
After initially making claims that following their split, Princess Beatrice and her sister, Princess Eugenie had gone to a party in Jamaica where guests indulged in substances, Paolo spoke on their relationship.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to get in that deep with Bea. I loved her but I wasn't in love with her," Paolo previously remarked. He then divulged about his infidelities that took place when he was still involved with Princess Beatrice, noting "Women are my weakness."
September of 2009 saw Paolo run into more trouble with the law. He crashed an Audi he rented into traffic lights and was arrested on the Gold Coast of Australia.
Additionally, reports state that Paolo had also failed to pay for his accommodation and his restaurant bills. Pleading guilty to motor offenses, fraud, and substance possession, Paolo was fined $3,255.62 (£2,600).
Unfortunately, Paolo's run-ins with the law did not stop there as public records show that he dealt with other driving offenses.
Although Princess Beatrice had already moved on long before Paolo's passing, going on to marry her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and start a family, news of his death still came as a "shock."
Adding insult to injury, Princess Beatrice and the rest of her royal family experienced another loss the same month Paolo was found dead with the death of Thomas Kingston. Like Paolo, the late royal was found dead in his forties, which we previously reported on February 28, 2024.
Thomas was the husband of Lady Gabriella and son-in-law to Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. According to reports, he was found dead at a residence in Gloucestershire at 45 years old.
Authorities were called to the scene on a Sunday evening and confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. They also clarified that no one else was involved in his passing.
Lady Gabriella and her late husband's family issued a statement through Buckingham Palace. The statement commemorated Thomas's life, and their message read, "Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him."
The beloved royal's passing was described as a "great shock," and left the royal family and their extended social circles in mourning. King Charles III and Queen Camilla extended their "most heartfelt thoughts and prayers" to Thomas's family during the significantly challenging time.
As previously reported by someone a media outlet deemed a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, the King and Queen of England also expressed that they stood in solidarity with Prince Michael—the grandson of King George V and cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II—and his wife.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla also extended their sympathies to everyone who knew Thomas as they grieved the beloved family member.
Thomas's personal ties to the royal family expand back to a time before he met and married Lady Gabriella. Years ago, he dated Princess Catherine's younger sister, Pippa Middleton.
Despite ending their relationship sometime around 2011, Thomas and Pippa remained friends. He even attended Pippa and her husband, James Matthew's wedding in 2017 with Lady Gabriella, and in turn, Pippa was a guest at Thomas and Lady Gabriella's wedding in 2019.
More than just the former doting wife of a financier, Lady Gabriella is quite accomplished in her professional life. In addition to being a writer, singer, and songwriter, she holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown University and an MPhil in Social Anthropology from Oxford.
Her work spans contributions to The London Magazine and initiatives with Latin American partners in the arts and conservation sectors. In 2020, she released her first jazz music project in an effort to support the Playing for Change Foundation.