Royal Exes You Didn't Know Passed Away
In the 1990s, the British royal family was rocked by one of the biggest tragedies to hit the monarchy in living memory: the death of Princess Diana. King Charles III had initiated a divorce from the then-Princess of Wales, which was finalized just a year earlier, making her one of the most high-profile ex-wives in the world. She was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, devastating the royal family and legions of followers around the globe. "I think many of you will know from the experience of family loss in your own lives, it is inevitably very difficult to cope with grief at any time," King Charles said several weeks after the tragedy (via AP), "but perhaps you might realize that it is even harder when the whole world is watching at the same time." Sure enough, the royals reacted to Princess Diana's death in a variety of ways.
While Princess Diana may be the most famous royal ex to have passed away, she's not the only one. Several members of the British royal family have dealt with their own losses in the public eye, as have several members of other royal families, too. Read on to learn about these royal exes you didn't know died.
The American ex-wife of Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani died under suspicious circumstances
Kasia Gallanio was an American who married Qatari royalty. She wed her much-older husband, Qatari prince Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, when she was only 19. "I wanted to take care of him," she told Women's World. "I wanted to be there for him, because I think he's lonely. It's lonely at the top."
The relationship broke down, and they wound up splitting in 2007. According to the Daily Mail, the bitter breakup played out in the courts over the following decade and a half, with Gallanio accusing her ex-husband of having molested their daughter. "I hope it's not true however when my daughter says it, I do believe my daughter," she said. "It's a horrible story, something that hit me very hard. It's every mother's nightmare." She detailed the case on Instagram, writing, "Children should NEVER be used as victims or pawns when the parents can't get along."
In 2022, Gallanio lost her custody battle, failing to successfully prove in court that her ex had abused their child. A few weeks later, she turned up dead in a Spanish apartment, apparently having died of an overdose. However, friends told the media that they suspected foul play. "I am 100% sure she did not die of an overdose," her friend Louis Spagnuolo told the Daily Beast. "She did not commit suicide. She would have never left her daughters, and she did not use drugs."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Prince Harry's ex Caroline Flack died in 2020
Prince Harry dated TV presenter Caroline Flack in 2009. He wrote about the experience in his memoir "Spare," recalling that some friends introduced them at a restaurant. "She was funny. And sweet. And cool," he wrote, per Yahoo! News. At the time, she had hosted shows like "Gladiators," and she would go on to helm mega-hits like "The X Factor" and "Love Island." "She wasn't taken aback that I didn't recognize her," the prince recalled. "She didn't have a big ego."
Flack also wrote about that relationship in her own memoir, complimenting him in "Storm In a C Cup" for how well he handled intense interest from the media. Unfortunately, that was their undoing. In 2023, Prince Harry testified to a British court that a photographer tracked them on a date. "I was so shocked — and livid — that the two photographers from Ikon Pictures knew where we would be and were already there, waiting for us to arrive," he said (per the BBC). "Once the story got out, that was it," Flack wrote. "We had to stop seeing each other. I was no longer Caroline Flack, TV presenter. I was Caroline Flack, Prince Harry's bit of rough."
Caroline Flack, the former "Love Island" host, died by suicide in 2020. Prince Harry addressed her death in "Spare," laying her struggle at the feet of the media. "She'd been so light and funny that night we met," he wrote. "The definition of carefree."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
Princess Beatrice's ex-boyfriend Paolo Liuzzo died of a drug overdose
Princess Beatrice is the daughter of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew (who had a controversial friendship with Jeffrey Epstein). She dated a man named Paolo Liuzzo in the mid-2000s, when she was only 17. According to the Daily Mail, Liuzzo was a bit of a bad boy; after all, he'd been arrested the year before. The royal family at large didn't approve of their relationship, but Sarah commented, "We all have our own journeys and have to learn our way."
After they went their separate ways in 2007, Liuzzo spoke at length with the Daily Mail. He claimed Prince Andrew owed him money, revealed that the princess and her sister attended parties where drugs were being consumed, and that Sarah Ferguson had condoned it all. He also insisted that Beatrice was made to dump him at the request of her mother. "I assumed Fergie told the Duke [about the charges]," he said, "so I was really surprised when I discovered she hadn't."
In February 2023, Liuzzo died of a drug overdose in Miami. A friend told the Independent that he'd been in a bad state, dealing with debts and drug addiction. "He began using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs but that later led to cocaine and harder drugs," the source said. "It was a very fast lifestyle and we all feared it would catch up with him eventually."
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Actor Richard Burton was a royal ex of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia
Seven-time Oscar nominee Richard Burton is remembered for his tumultuous love life. In particular, his legacy includes his legendary on-again, off-again relationship with Elizabeth Taylor, which led to multiple marriages.
His "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" co-star wasn't the only Elizabeth that Burton dated, however. During a break from one of several romances with his sometimes-wife, Burton also dated Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia. In fact, at one point, they were engaged to be married. He told the The New York Times in 1974, four months out from a divorce from Taylor, "We are going to get married as soon as it is practicably possible." He meant, after all, that the princess herself was married to someone else at the time. "Richard is my man," she told Australian Women's Weekly. "I think he is just lovely — lovely." She didn't seem intimidated by the actor's legendarily bad moods, insisting, "... I can handle Richard ... I'm spoiled, obstinate, and hot-tempered. How's that to take on Richard Burton?"
They never actually got married. In 1975, he re-married Elizabeth Taylor, only to re-divorce her less than a year after that. Burton died back in the 1980s from a brain hemorrhage.
Princess Märtha Louise's ex-husband died by suicide
Princess Märtha Louise, a member of Norway's royal family, announced in 2016 that she was seeking a divorce from Ari Behn, her husband of more than a decade. The couple had several children together, whom they planned to continue to raise together, but otherwise they wanted to go their separate ways. In a statement (via People), the princess said, "It's unspeakably sad for both of us to discover that the road ahead doesn't run as it once did. Like so many others, we've grown apart. We've tried everything over a long period of time ... but it's impossible for us to go on."
In 2017, Behn made headlines on his own when he accused disgraced actor Kevin Spacey of sexual misconduct. Apparently, Spacey and Behn were speaking after a Nobel Prize ceremony in 2007 when the actor assaulted him. "After five minutes he said, 'Hey, let's go out and have a cigarette,'" Behn said on Norwegian radio P4 (via BBC News). "Then he puts his hand under the table and grabs me ... I am a generous person, but this was a bit more than I had in mind."
Behn died by suicide on Christmas Day in 2019. In a statement (via the Independent), King Harald of Norway said, "We are grateful that we got to know him. We grieve that our grandchildren have now lost their beloved father." For the record, Princess Märtha Louise went on to get engaged to an American shaman.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
Princess Margaret's ex-lover Peter Townsend died in the '90s
Viewers of "The Crown" will remember that Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II's sister, was involved in an infamous affair with Group Captain Peter Townsend. He was a Royal Air Force officer who worked in the palace when they fell in love. According to The Telegraph, Townsend once gushed over the princess. "She was, by nature, generous, volatile. She was a comedienne at heart, played the piano with ease and loved to sing the latest hits, imitating her favorite stars," he said. "She was coquettish, sophisticated. She could make you bend double with laughing and also touch you deeply in your heart."
Winston Churchill supported their romance, remarking (via CNN), "What a delightful match." Unfortunately, however, the pressures of the royal family kept them from being together, even though (and because) Townsend divorced his wife to be with the princess. Instead, they went their separate ways. Princess Margaret released a statement in 1955, per RadioTimes.com, which read, "Mindful of the Church's teaching that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before any others."
Townsend died in 1995. George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, revealed in a 2023 documentary (via the Daily Mail) that when he visited Princess Margaret on her deathbed, she mourned their lost love. "Here is a woman who longed for love and commitment, and the love of her [life] was forbidden from her, and there was a deep human sadness in that," he said.