A UK coroner’s inquest has confirmed how a 29-year-old Saudi prince died in a London hotel room last November. Prince Abdullah bin Fahad bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Jalawi Al Saud died from a fatal combination of alcohol, party drugs and prescription medication, the Inner West London Coroner’s Court heard.
He was found dead at the Marriott Hotel in Kensington on November 25 after suffering a cardiac arrest caused by multi-drug ingestion.
Prince Abdullah had checked into the £600-a-night hotel on November 19 for what was meant to be a week-long stay. CCTV footage showed him last alive the evening before his death, when he stepped outside briefly to smoke a cigarette before returning to his room alone.
A hotel cleaner entered his fifth-floor room the next day and found him lying fully clothed on the bathroom floor. Hotel staff called emergency services, but paramedics were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
What the toxicology report found
Tests showed Prince Abdullah had a blood alcohol concentration of 222mg per 100ml, nearly three times England’s legal drink-driving limit. Experts told the court that level alone could have induced a coma.
Investigators also found potentially fatal levels of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), along with traces of cannabis and anti-anxiety medication including alprazolam, known commercially as Xanax. Medical experts concluded the combination caused cardiac arrest and ultimately his death.
The court heard Prince Abdullah had struggled with alcohol misuse and prescription drug dependence in the months before his death. He was admitted to the Priory Clinic in Roehampton in August 2025, where he underwent detoxification for alcohol, benzodiazepines and pregabalin.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Victoria Chamorro told the inquest the prince had engaged positively with treatment. He showed symptoms of anxiety and low mood on admission but completed the detox programme without physical complications. He later missed some follow-up appointments, though clinicians did not consider him at risk of self-harm when discharged.
Following his stay at the Priory, Prince Abdullah received further treatment at Rainford Hall Clinic in Merseyside. He left the facility in October after recovering from an upper respiratory infection.
Coroner rules out suicide
Assistant Coroner Jean Harkin found no evidence the prince intended to end his life. She noted there was no suicide note, no indication he had expressed suicidal thoughts, and no evidence of third-party involvement. Reports from both the Priory and Rainford Hall recorded no concerns of that nature.
Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, Harkin gave the medical cause of death as multi-drug ingestion. “I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Abdullah,” she said.
The Saudi Royal Court later confirmed Prince Abdullah’s death in an official statement. Funeral prayers were held at the VIP Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.
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