Paolo Liuzzo: ex-boyfriend of Princess Beatrice dies following drug overdose in Miami as royal left 'heartbroken'

Paolo Liuzzo, the ex-boyfriend of Princess Beatrice, has died at the age of 41 following a suspected drug overdose.

The Sun reports that Liuzzo passed away on February 7, 2024 after the suspected drug overdose at the citizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel in Florida, with sources claiming that he had racked up gambling debts as well as struggling with addiction. Officer Michael Vega, of the Miami Police Department, told the newspaper: “It was investigated as an overdose death. The investigation is open and ongoing.” Princess Beatrice was involved with Liuzzo, who was six years her senior, when she was 17 years old in 2005. The pair dated quietly until their relationship was made public when he joined the family on a ski holiday to Switzerland in 2006.

Before the relationship, Liuzzo had been charged with the death of a student in Massachusetts following a fist-fight, with this being later downgraded to assault and battery for which he served 100 hours of community service. Despite this, Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice’s mum, backed her daughter's relationship at the time, 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.”

The relationship between the pair ended after Liuzzo was caught flouting his probation rules, which allowed him to travel abroad for work only. Taking later about their pairing, Liuzzo said: “I wasn’t sure I wanted to get in that deep with Bea. I loved her but I wasn’t in love with her.”

He 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 after because of Bea. I’m not a bad person. But it’s like putting heroin in front of Pete Doherty. Women are my weakness.”

Princess Beatrice went on to marry Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, a member of Italian nobility. After postponing their nuptials due to Covid in May 2020, they couple celebrated a smaller-scale ceremony in July of that same years, with only close friends and family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, in attendance.

The couple, who live in London and Oxfordshire, welcomed daughter Sienna in September 2021. Beatrice is also step-mother to Mozzi’s son from a previous relationship.