PAOLO Liuzzo was Princess Beatrice’s ‘first love’ and someone she cared about so deeply that she pushed to introduce him to the late Queen.
Sadly, the troubled playboy struggled with life after dating the princess in the early ’90s, before her suspected death from a drug overdose this year at age 41.
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While Beatrice was looking for love with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Paolo was embroiled in controversies, from cocaine, sex and gambling scandals to a dark episode involving the death of a student.
Having inherited a fortune from his late father, plastic resin magnate Nico Liuzzo, the young Italian gained a reputation for being a hard partyer and even compared his womanizing character to Pete Doherty’s drug addiction.
After Paolo’s death in a Miami hotel in February, his body was flown back to his native New York for a funeral – and friends told The Sun it was not a complete surprise that he had died young.
A friend revealed: “Paolo wasn’t doing very well on a personal level. He loved to party and gamble.
“He started using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs, but this later led to cocaine and harder drugs.
“It was a very fast lifestyle and we all feared it would eventually catch up.”
Pals also claimed that the socialite’s fast life and gambling addiction left him deeply in debt despite his vast wealth, even owing debts to loan sharks.
Authorities said that while the cause of death had not been confirmed, it was being “investigated as an overdose death.”
‘Shocking and embarrassing’ scandals
Paolo was single at the time of his death, but his most famous romance was with Princess Beatrice, whom he called ‘Bea’.
After meeting in Jamaica in 2005, they started dating when she was 17 and he was in his early twenties.
Paolo then broke the news to Beatrice that three years earlier he had been charged with the manslaughter of a student who had died during a drunken fight.
The charge was later downgraded to assault and battery, and he served 100 hours of community service.
Despite Beatrice’s love for Paolo, the relationship caused heartache for the royal family – especially her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, who tried to publicly support her despite their reservations.
However, after they invited him to Switzerland for a holiday in 2006, it was discovered that Liuzzo had breached the conditions of his parole.
Beatrice was forced to end their romance when he was sent back to the United States to have his three-year probation extended by the courts as punishment.
How will Paolo’s death affect Beatrice?
By Matt Wilkinson
The Sun’s royal editor Matt Wilkinson looks at 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-oriented mother to someone who is married to a dashing and elegant property developer, but the path to love has not always been smooth.
“The young princess’s first love was New Yorker Paolo Liuzzo, who was not only seven years older than her, but acted in a less gentlemanly manner after their separation.
“Beatrice, aged 17, 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 took the teenage princess to Paris.
“But the young love fell apart a year later when it emerged that Paolo was wanted back in the US to explain to a judge why he had breached the terms of his probation by holidaying in the Alps.
“In fact, Paolo’s story was a drama the royal family could do without. He was charged with manslaughter after a student died in a fight, but later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
“After they split he couldn’t cover himself in glory when talking about Beatrice saying ‘I loved her but I wasn’t in love with her’ and talked about cheating on the young princess when they were dating.
“The nature of Paolo’s death will shock Beatrice, but she proved that after a love life of many twists and turns, it is possible to find love and a happy life within the royal family.”
After the split, he further fanned the flames by claiming that the princess and her sister Eugenie, then 15, attended a party in Jamaica where guests smoked marijuana and ate magic mushrooms.
A source told The Sun: “Andrew didn’t approve of it but didn’t want to alienate his darling daughter.
“It was obvious that Bea was madly in love with the guy, who was definitely on the wrong side.
“However, her mother, Sarah, realized the situation needed to be handled with care. [so they] they were openly welcoming of Paolo, even as they started to hear about him getting into trouble and doing the kinds of things they wanted to protect Bea from.
“They were shocked when they learned he used a lot of cocaine and was seen with other women, and were embarrassed when he later claimed he had smoked marijuana in their presence.”
‘Love… but not in love’
Paolo continued to infuriate the royals by revealing his previous relationship, revealing that he had cheated on the princess with other women.
He told the Mail in 2007 that Beatrice was so in love that he insisted he would “love [him] meet grandma.”
He said: “We started joking about getting married and having kids.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to go that deep with Bea. I loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her.
“Sometimes another friend of mine would come to my house in Eaton Square in London.
“It was just a joke, nothing more, and afterwards I felt really bad about Bea.
He also added, “Bea wanted to fly to New York to visit my mom, but to be honest, I’ve never brought a woman back to my house to meet my family unless it was someone I was going to propose to.”
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‘Women are my weakness’
Despite his high-profile romance with Beatrice, the self-confessed lothario admitted he struggled with being tied down.
He once said about himself: “I’m not a bad person. But it’s like putting heroin in front of Pete Doherty.
“Women are my weakness.”
Having inherited millions, Paolo was able to live in luxury, once telling police that his address was the prestigious Trump Tower in New York, where apartments sell for millions.
He admitted it in 2009 after being arrested in Australia after crashing a rented Audi for £40,000 while he was rumored to be fleeing Jupiters Casino – where he apparently left without paying the bill.
He was accused of a series of crimes, including possession of cocaine.
He also failed to pay accommodation and restaurant bills at a casino.
Sometimes another friend of mine would come to my house. It was just a joke, nothing more, and afterwards I felt really bad about Bea
Paul
He pleaded guilty to traffic offences, fraud and cocaine possession and was fined £2,600.
No conviction was recorded, but the magistrate criticized Liuzzo for his “arrogant” attitude towards the court.
In the last years of his life, he had more problems with the law, including multiple driving violations.
Mother-of-one Beatrice, now 35, is believed to have discovered Paolo’s death shortly after her mother was diagnosed with skin cancer and was “heartbroken” by the news.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
