Princess Beatrice’s ex-boyfriend Paolo Liuzzo has died from a suspected drug overdose, the Sun reported Wednesday.
According to the publication, he passed away in a room at the citizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel at 3:34 p.m. on Feb. 7. His body was reportedly transported back to his native, Long Island, N.Y., where a funeral was held on Feb 16.
Officer Michael Vega of the Miami Police Department told the Sun on Wednesday that his death “was investigated as an overdose” and that the investigation “is open and ongoing.”
Buckingham Palace promotes their strawberry preserve days after Meghan Markle releases line of jam
More damning info about Meghan Markle’s palace ‘bullying’ will emerge after ex-aide spoke out: royal expert
It's the parlor game that's obsessed London: Which royal invited Rebel Wilson to an orgy?
Furthermore, an alleged longtime pal of Liuzzo claimed to the Sun that he was “not doing great” before his death and that he “loved to party and to gamble.”
“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.”
Page Six was unable to reach reps for Beatrice, whom the Sun claimed was “heartbroken” over her ex’s death.
The pair began dating in 2005 when Beatrice, now 35, was 17 and he was 24. Her mother, Sarah Ferguson — who shares Beatrice with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s controversial son Prince Andrew — previously supported their relationship when they first got together.
“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,” she said via a public statement at the time.
Before they began dating, Liuzzo was charged with the manslaughter of Jonathan R. Duchatellier, a fellow student at the College of the Holy Cross, after they got into a drunken fistfight.
His charge was later reduced to assault and battery and he served 100 hours of community service.
However, when his romance with Beatrice became public fodder, he was sent back to the US for violating his three-year probation, which was subsequently extended by six months.
Their relationship ended publicly in 2006.
More must-see royals coverage:
- How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met
- Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship timeline
- Royal family tree and line of succession
Later, Liuzzo reportedly claimed he was never “in love” with the princess. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to get in that deep with Bea,” he explained, per the Sun.
In 2009, Liuzzo, who is thought to have inherited his fortune from his dad, was back in the headlines for crashing his pricey Audi rental in Australia’s Gold Coast. He was then charged with fraud and cocaine possession after he tried to skip out on food and boarding bills at a casino.
He reportedly never married and worked as an art industry consultant before he died.
Beatrice, for her part, married entrepreneur Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020. They share a 2-year-old daughter named Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi.
Edoardo also shares 6-year-old son Christopher “Wolfie” Woolf with former girlfriend Dara Huang.
