Princess Beatrice’s ‘first love’ Paolo Liuzzo was found dead in a Miami hotel room following a suspected overdose at the age of 41 after a long battle with drugs, gambling and violence.
Beatrice, 35, dated the socialite from 2005, when she was just 17 and he was 24, until 2006. Despite the age gap, her parents, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew in disgrace, approved this relationship.
The princess was forced to end their whirlwind romance after Liuzzo violated his bail conditions on charges related to the death of a student in New York.
In recent years, Liuzzo has led a “very fast life,” according to his close friend. Insiders revealed that Liuzzo struggled with gambling as well as drugs, and claim he had racked up debts with loan sharks, according to The Sun.
“Paolo wasn’t doing very well on a personal level. He loved to party and play. He started using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs, but that then led him to cocaine and harder drugs,” a friend said.
Princess Beatrice’s “first love”, Paolo Liuzzo (left), was found dead in a Miami hotel room following a suspected overdose at the age of 41, after a long battle with drugs, gambling and violence.
In recent years, Liuzzo has led a “very fast life,” according to his close friend. Insiders revealed that Liuzzo struggled with gambling as well as drugs, and claimed he had racked up debts with loan sharks.
Liuzzo is pictured here with apparent former girlfriend Arianna Pappas, who captioned the photo “Beso Beach with my baby!” @paolo.liuzzo’
It was during his university years that Liuzzo had his first serious run-ins with the law. In 2002, Liuzzo was convicted of a fight that killed a fellow student, 19-year-old Jonathan R. Duchatellier.
Liuzzo was constantly borrowing money to pay off his loans – which became a vicious cycle, according to the friend.
According to his Linkedin profile, Liuzzo was the owner of DNC Productions LLC. He moved from New York to South Florida and was photographed attending events at art galleries in Miami.
Beatrice’s ex-boyfriend is from Woodbury, New York, and grew up on Long Island. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, a liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.
It was during his university years that Liuzzo had his first serious run-ins with the law.
In 2002, Liuzzo was convicted of a fight that killed a fellow student, 19-year-old Jonathan R. Duchatellier.
Reports of the May 6 fight claimed that the men involved, including Duchatellier and Liuzzo, had been drinking alcohol the night of the off-campus fight.
Liuzzo was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, but later pleaded guilty to a charge of battery. His co-defendant, Daniel K. Clark, did the same and the manslaughter charges against them were dismissed. They were both placed on probation for three years.
Several years later, in 2005, it was announced that Liuzzo, described as an “American socialite”, and Beatrice had been involved in a secret romance for months.
Liuzzo and Beatrice met through mutual friends and began dating in July 2005, despite knowing of his shady past.
Beatrice’s friends said Paolo was “Bea’s first real boyfriend” and revealed he had been living in London for several months, but Beatrice was planning to go to university in America so the couple could pursue their romance.
“Despite his past, Paolo is very well-mannered and treats Bea with incredible respect and kindness,” the friend said.
A palace source said Liuzzo was “very open about his background when he and Beatrice became close.”
“He’s very honest about what happened to him and he knows that nothing he does will make up for it. But he’s a wonderful, caring person, and they all love him very much,” she said. source in the newspaper of the time.
Liuzzo was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, but later pleaded guilty to a charge of battery.
Liuzzo shared this photo of himself with a friend on his personal Facebook account in 2023
Liuzzo was found dead on February 7 in a room at the CitizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel at 3:22 p.m., according to Officer Michael Vega of the Miami Police Department.
Despite a seven-year age difference and Liuzzo’s questionable history, Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson approved of the couple’s relationship.
The couple were spotted on a ski retreat at the exclusive resort of Verbier in Switzerland, alongside Beatrice’s parents. However, it later emerged that Liuzzo had flouted the terms of his probation to go on holiday with the Queen’s granddaughter and her family to Switzerland.
As a result, he was brought back to the United States where his three-year probation was extended by the courts as punishment, forcing Beatrice to end this new romance in 2006.
Beatrice was said to have been heartbroken when their romance ended and she returned to Goldsmiths, part of the University of London.
The following year, he embarrassed the royal family by claiming that marijuana had been smoked in the presence of Beatrice, her sister Eugenie and their mother, Sarah Ferguson, while they were on vacation in Jamaica during their relationship.
He was part of a group of eight people, including the princesses, who went on a ten-day vacation to the Caribbean.
The self-proclaimed playboy also admitted to cheating on Beatrice during their relationship – and said she had wanted to introduce him to the Queen.
Princess Beatrice is pictured with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Despite a seven-year age difference and Liuzzo’s questionable history, Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson (pictured left with daughter Beatrice) approved of the couple’s relationship.
His relationship with the law did not improve over the years and he was arrested during a trip to the United States in 2009. during series of offenses including possession of cocaine.
The arrest took place on the Gold Coast on September 27, 2009, after he crashed a black Audi rental car worth $90,000 into a traffic light.
The then 27-year-old also failed to pay his lodging and restaurant bills at the Conrad Jupiters casino.
Australian law enforcement charged Liuzzo with fraud, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, possession of two grams of cocaine and driving without due care. Liuzzo pleaded guilty and was fined $5,000.
Liuzzo was found dead on February 7 in a room at the CitizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel at 3:22 p.m., according to Officer Michael Vega of the Miami Police Department.
The cause of death has not been officially reported, but Officer Vega said, “It was investigated as a death by overdose. The investigation is open and ongoing.
Liuzzo’s death certificate revealed that he had worked as a consultant in the art industry and never married.
His body was taken to Long Island, New York, where he grew up and a funeral was held on February 16.
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