London: A 29-year-old Saudi prince died in a luxury London hotel, a UK coroner’s inquest was told.
A member of Saudi Arabia’s ruling dynasty, the prince, identified as Abdullah bin Fahad bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Jalawi Al Saud, was found dead in his room at the Marriott Hotel on November 25.
He suffered a cardiac arrest after an overdose of alcohol and drugs at a party. Traces of liquor, recreational drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), cannabis and Xanax were found in his system, several British media outlets reported.
A toxicology report presented in court showed the prince with almost three times the drink-drive limit at the time of his death, according to The Telegraph UK.
As per evidence presented before Inner West London Coroner’s Court, Prince Abdullah had checked into the 600 euros per night hotel on November 19 for a week-long stay. He was last seen alive on CCTV the evening before his death, when he stepped outside for a cigarette.
On the fateful day, a room cleaner discovered him lying fully clothed on the bathroom floor on entering his fifth-floor room. Emergency services were alerted, but paramedics couldn’t revive him. The prince was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court was told that Prince Abdullah had a history of alcohol misuse and prescription drug dependence.
Three months before his death, the prince was admitted to Priory Clinic in Roehampton, where he underwent detoxification for alcohol, benzodiazepines and pregabalin.
A consultant psychiatrist said that Prince Abdullah had responded engaged positively during treatment, showed symptoms of anxiety, but completed the detox programme without physical complications. He missed scheduled follow-up appointments, but clinicians did not consider him to be at risk of self-harm when he was discharged.
He received further treatment at Rainford Hall Clinic in Merseyside before leaving the facility in October, having recovered from an upper respiratory infection.
Assistant Coroner Jean Harkin concluded there was no evidence that the prince intended to end his life, and recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
