Saudi Prince Found Dead in Luxury London Hotel Room as First Photo Emerges

A Saudi prince found dead in an upscale London hotel room after taking alcohol and party drugs has been identified in a newly published image.

Prince Abdullah bin Fahad bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Jalawi al Saud, 29, was found by a cleaner on November 25 last year on the bathroom floor of his £600-a-night room at the Marriott Hotel in Kensington.

A post-mortem examination found the Saudi royal died from cardiac arrest after consuming alcohol, GHB and several other substances.

An assistant coroner recorded his death as a tragic misadventure, saying there was no evidence to suggest he had intended to end his life.

Inner West London Coroner’s Court was told the prince had arrived at the west London hotel on November 19 for a planned week-long stay.

The final confirmed sighting of him was captured on CCTV the night before his death, when he left the hotel to smoke a cigarette and later returned by himself.

The next day, a cleaner entered his locked room on the fifth floor and discovered him lying fully clothed on the bathroom floor.

Hotel security and paramedics were alerted, but efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and he was declared dead at the scene.

Toxicology tests revealed Prince Abdullah had a blood alcohol level of 222mg per 100ml of blood – almost three times England’s legal drink-drive limit of 80mg.

The inquest heard this level alone was within a range that could potentially cause a coma.

He was also found to have potentially fatal levels of Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, commonly known as GHB, in his system.

Tests also detected traces of cannabis, the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, better known as Xanax, in a recreational dose, alongside other anti-anxiety medicines present at therapeutic levels.

The court was told the prince had struggled with alcohol misuse and Xanax before his death.

In August last year he was admitted to the Priory Clinic in Roehampton, south-west London, where residential treatment can cost up to £35,000 a week.

During his stay he underwent detoxification from alcohol, benzodiazepines and the anti-anxiety drug pregabalin.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Victoria Chamorro said he had ‘engaged well’ during treatment and that the detox had ‘proceeded without physical side effects.’

‘He was supportive and kind to his peers, making friends,’ she said in a statement.

‘He was assessed as having symptoms of low mood and anxiety on admission.

‘When he was discharged he was considered not to be at risk of suicide. He was discharged with a friend but then failed to attend scheduled Zoom appointments.

‘Nevertheless there was no concern for him. He engaged well and completed his treatment.’

Following his discharge from the Priory, Prince Abdullah continued treatment at the private Rainford Hall clinic in St Helens, Merseyside, where stays can cost around £7,000 a week.

The inquest heard he was also diagnosed with an upper respiratory tract infection before recovering and leaving the clinic on October 14.

A post-mortem examination found he had no underlying acute or chronic illnesses and concluded his death resulted from the combined effects of multiple drugs and alcohol.

Assistant Coroner Jean Harkin said there was nothing to suggest the prince intended to end his life.

She noted there had been no concerns raised by staff at either treatment centre, he had not expressed suicidal thoughts to anyone and no note was found in his hotel room.

The coroner also said CCTV footage showed no evidence of anyone else entering his room before his death.

Recording a conclusion of death by misadventure, with the medical cause of death given as multi-drug ingestion, Mrs Harkin added: ‘I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Abdullah.’