PAOLO Liuzzo started dating Princess Beatrice back in 2005 when he was 23 and she was just 17.
The princess’ first boyfriend tragically passed away following a suspected drug overdose on February 7, 2024.
Paolo Liuzzo, the son of an Italian plastic resin tycoon, has sadly died at the age of 42.
It is understood that he inherited a fortune after the death of his father, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 62.
Liuzzo had repeated run-ins with the law, including over the death of a student and cocaine possession.
In 2002, he was charged with the manslaughter of a student during a drunken brawl in Massachusetts, which was later downgraded to assault and battery — he served a 100-hour community service sentence.
Regardless, Fergie gave the couple’s relationship her blessing, 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.”
Publicity surrounding Luizzo’s royal romance led to him being hauled back to the US for flouting the conditions of his probation as he was only allowed to travel abroad for work.
He had his three-year probation extended by six months as punishment, leading to Beatrice publicly ending their relationship.
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, then 15, had attended a party in Jamaica where guests smoked cannabis and took magic mushrooms.
In September 2009, Liuzzo, who was 27 at the time, was arrested on Australia’s Gold Coast after crashing his Audi hire car into traffic lights.
He also failed to pay for restaurant bills and accommodation at a casino.
Liuzzo was fined £2,600 after pleading guilty to motoring offences, fraud and cocaine possession.
No conviction was recorded but the magistrate blasted Liuzzo for his “cavalier” attitude to the court.
Public records show in recent years he had several brushes with Florida police over driving offences.
On February 7, 2024, Liuzzo was found dead in a Miami hotel room.
Sources said he was struggling with drugs and had racked up big gambling debts.
Officer Michael Vega of the Miami Police Department told The Sun police found Liuzzo after being called to a room at the citizenM Miami Worldcenter hotel at 3.22pm.
The time of death was given as 3.34pm. The cause has not been disclosed due to Florida records law.
Officer Vega said: “It was investigated as an overdose death. The investigation is open and ongoing.”
The death certificate says Liuzzo had been working as an art industry consultant and never married.
He was listed as living at an apartment building near the hotel.
His body was flown back to his native Long Island, New York, for a funeral on February 16.
A pal of Liuzzo admitted: “Paolo was not doing great on a personal level. He loved to party and gamble.
“He began using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs, 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 loans. It became a vicious cycle.”
Liuzzo and Beatrice — six years his junior — started dating in 2005 but kept it under wraps until the following year.
Liuzzo and Beatrice’s relationship was revealed after he was invited on her family’s ski holiday in Verbier, Switzerland, in February 2006.
And later he 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.”
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.”
After Beatrice’s split from Liuzzo, she spent the majority of her 20s dating Virgin Galactic executive Dave Clark.
Fergie gave the couple her thumbs-up, saying: “I call him Mr Smiley because he smiles and he’s happy. I love Dave.”
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, they never married and split by mutual agreement after ten years in 2016.
In 2018, Bea 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 Covid-19 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.
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.”
