REAL romances are often seen as fairy tales and most current family members are happily married.
But many royals suffered the pain of first love before finding happiness with their current partners.
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This week, it was revealed that Princess Beatrice’s former bad boy, Paolo Liuzzo, had died at the age of 41.
The American – who she dated when she was just 17 – died of an overdose in a Miami hotel room, and Beatrice was devastated by the news.
But other royals also had their hearts broken by the first wave of romance.
Here we see their first loves and where they are now.
Princess Beatrice and Paolo Liuzzo
The death of Princess Beatrice’s first love in February shocked the world and left royals mourning their teenage love.
He dated the princess in 2005 after they met in Jamaica. The pair had a whirlwind romance that lasted a year.
Bad boy Paolo had a history of drug abuse, gambling and a violent prosecution for his role in a student’s death – but the teenage princess cared about him so much she even pushed for him to meet her grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
After they began dating, he told Beatrice that he had been involved in the death of a student three years earlier and was initially charged with manslaughter for his role in the drunken fight.
The charge was downgraded to assault and battery, for which he served 100 hours of community service.
Despite this, Beatrice’s parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, did their best to publicly support their eldest daughter, even inviting him to vacation in Sweden with them.
But this well-intentioned gesture put an end to their romance, as Liuzzo’s presence violated his parole and he was sent back to the US to have his three-year parole extended as punishment.
Beatrice married developer Eduardo Mapelli Mozzi, with whom she shares two-year-old daughter Sienna. She is stepmother to her son Christopher, born in 2016.
Prince William and Rose Farquhar
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Before meeting the now Princess of Wales, Prince William dated a string of high society women – but the one who first captured his heart was Rose Farquhar.
Rose and Prince William met in 2000 at the Beaufort Polo Club in Gloucestershire after he finished his A levels at Eton.
Although their relationship was short-lived, Rose is often described as the Prince’s first love.
The pair split before Prince William went to university in St Andrews, where he would meet his now-wife Kate Middleton.
Rose became a singer, appearing on The Voice in 2016 and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? in 2006.
She made it to the final 16 before her dreams of appearing in the West End production of The Sound of Music were dashed.
In 2022, she married George Gemmell, an aspiring veterinarian and stepson of Barbadian construction magnate Sir Charles Williams.
Prince William found time to attend the ceremony, reportedly sneaking out the back to watch the vows so as not to distract from his ex-girlfriend’s big day.
Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy
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Between 2004 and 2011, Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy, born in Zimbabwe, enjoyed an intense romance.
The pair met in Cape Town in 2004 and Prince Harry wrote in his book Spare that he knew immediately Chelsy was “different”.
“I always wanted to know what it would be like to meet a woman and not have her eyes widen at the mention of my titles, but rather expand them myself using my mind, my heart,” he wrote. It seemed like a real possibility.
However, their relationship ended after seven years and Chelsy, who was just 19 when they met, made it clear that she had no interest in being in the public eye.
She said dating someone as famous as Harry could be scary.
“I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn’t take it,” she says. “I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid. It was horrible.”
The pair split but remained amicable, with Chelsy attending his wedding to Meghan Markle. She has since married her partner of three years, Sam Cutmore-Scott, in a secret ceremony in 2022.
The couple now share a son, Leo, born in January 2022.
Kate Middleton and Harry Blakelock
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Before meeting her Prince Charming, Kate Middleton was busy being heartbroken and grieving over a rugby boy she met in high school.
Kate and Harry Blakelock studied together at Marlborough College, but their relationship ended before she went to St Andrews, where she would meet Prince William.
In the book Kate: The Future Queen, a friend of Kate’s is quoted as saying she was “really into” Harry.
“She talked about him all the time. I think he may have broken her heart a little. He seemed to have hot and cold feelings towards her when they were at school and she was always talking about how she could get him back.”
Princess Eugenie and Hugo Taylor
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Party girl Eugenie had her first headline romance with Made in Chelsea star Hugo Taylor aged 18.
The pair were caught kissing in a nightclub when Eugenie was just 18 and Hugo was 21.
A source told the Daily Mail: “Eugenie likes bad boys and Hugo is dark and a bit mischievous, which she loves.
“It’s not necessarily an exclusive relationship, but they both like each other.”
Hugo – who also appeared on I’m A Celeb – had a reputation as a womanizer so the romance was short-lived.
He married Millie Mackintosh and they share daughters Sienna, three, and Aurelia, two.
Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in 2018 and they have two boys – August, three, and Ernest, 11 months.
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engleson
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Meghan Markle had a series of short-term relationships before meeting her first husband, Trevor Engleson, in the early 2000s.
They both worked in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles and moved in the same circles.
They dated for seven years before tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Jamaica in 2011 – but the marriage quickly fell apart.
Meghan was cast as Rachel Zane in Suits – her big break – and this required her to be away to film frequently, which is said to be one of the reasons the pair divorced just two years after the ceremony.
Nina Priddy, a close friend of Meghan’s and her bridesmaid, told The Express that she did not want to associate with Meghan after the divorce.
“The way she handled it, Trevor definitely pulled the rug out from under him. He was injured.”
Six years later, Meghan would marry Prince Harry in a lavish ceremony shown around the world.
The following year, Trevor would also marry again, this time to nutritionist and heiress Tracey Kurland.
Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend
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The forbidden first love between the princess and her bodyguard has been retold many times, most recently in season 5 of The Crown.
The pair met at Buckingham Palace when he interviewed for the role of equerry to George VI.
Princess Margaret was “as normal as you would expect a 14-year-old girl to be,” according to a later interview with Peter.
In 1947, Peter, now married, was assigned to protect the 17-year-old on a royal tour of South Africa, and it was then that Princess Margaret said she fell in love with him.
Over the years, the feeling became mutual – but it never was.
Not only was Peter a commoner, but he was now divorced, having separated from his wife to devote himself to the princess.
Given that, by law, Margaret had to be 25 to marry anyway, the late Queen Elizabeth II asked her to wait before marrying Peter, despite her deep love.
When she turned 25, Margaret was given the choice of forgetting about marriage and remaining in the line of succession to the crown or giving up everything and marrying the man she had loved since she was 17.
Margaret put duty first and she and Peter separated, both remarrying other people.
King Carlos and Lúcia Santa Cruz
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Before the late Princess Diana, there was Camilla Parker Bowles – but before Camilla, there was Lucia Santa Cruz – Charles’ first love, who introduced him to his now wife and queen.
Lucia was the daughter of the former Chilean ambassador to London and met Prince Charles in 1968 at Cambridge University, where she was a research assistant.
She was five years older than him, spoke four languages and already had several degrees from Kings College, Oxford and St. Antony’s.
Smitten by her intelligence and beauty, Charles fell in love with her, even introducing her to his family on a trip to Balmoral.
Although the romance has faded, Lucia is responsible for introducing the king to his current wife – then known as Camilla Shand.
In 1971, Lucia moved into a flat in Belgravia, London – next door to the young and eligible Camilla.
She told Charles she had the right girl for him – and she did. Charles and Camilla hit it off immediately and fell in love.
As for Lúcia, she married Juan Luis Ossa, a Chilean lawyer and politician, and had three children. She remained friends with Charles and Camilla until her death in 2019.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
