Saudi prince dies after hotel drug mix

A Saudi prince has died in a London hotel after an inquest heard he took a lethal cocktail of alcohol and party drugs. Prince Abdullah bin Fahad bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Jalawi al Saud, 29, was found dead in the bathroom of his Kensington hotel room on November 25 last year, with investigators later concluding that the death was accidental.

The Inner West London Coroner’s Court heard that the royal had checked into the Marriott Hotel on November 19 for a planned week-long stay. He was last seen on CCTV the night before his death, when he stepped out to smoke, before a cleaner later discovered him fully clothed and unresponsive on the bathroom floor.

Toxicology evidence presented to the court showed a blood alcohol reading of 222mg per 100ml, nearly three times the legal driving limit in England, alongside GHB, cannabis, alprazolam and other anti-anxiety medicines. Doctors said the combined effect of the substances caused a cardiac arrest.

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The coroner ruled out suicide and third-party involvement, noting that the prince had recently received private treatment for substance misuse and had not been flagged as an immediate self-harm risk. The official conclusion was death by misadventure.