Saudi prince found dead in £600-a-night Kensington hotel room after detoxing at rehab clinics, inquest hears
The 29-year-old was almost three times the drink drive limit and had mixed alcohol with the party drug GHB, a court has heard
A Saudi prince found dead in his Kensington hotel room was almost three times over the drink-drive limit and had mixed alcohol with the party drug GHB, an inquest has heard.
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Prince Abdullah bin Fahad bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Jalawi al Saud was found dead in his bathroom on the fifth floor of the Marriott Hotel in Kensington on November 25 last year.
An inquest at Inner West London Coroner’s Court heard that the 29-year-old had checked in on November 19 for a one-week stay after detoxing at the Priory, a mental health and rehab clinic.
The member of the Saudi royal family was last seen on CCTV the night before his death, going outside to smoke a cigarette.
He was later discovered by a cleaner lying fully clothed on the bathroom floor of his locked £600-a-night hotel room.
Hotel security and the ambulance service were called but they were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead.
A toxicology report heard that he had a blood ethanol level of 222mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, almost triple the legal alcohol limit for driving of 80mg of alcohol per 100 ml.
He also had potentially lethal levels of Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) - the so-called "party drug" - and traces of cannabis and a recreational dose of Xanax, a prescription drug used to treat anxiety disorders, along with other anti-anxiety medication in therapeutic doses.
The court heard he had been struggling with the use of alcohol and Xanax.
The prince had been a patient at the world-renowned Priory Clinic in Roehampton, south west London, a private mental health and addiction facility, where a stay can cost more than £35,000 a week.
He was detoxed from alcohol, benzodiazepines (nervous system depressants) and the anti-anxiety drug Pregabalin.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Victoria Chamorro said he had “engaged well” with treatment and that it had proceeded "without physical side effects.”
She said in a statement that the prince was "supportive and kind" to his peers and made friends at the facility.
“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.”
After leaving the Priorty he spent time at the private the Rainford Hall rehab retreat in St Helens, Merseyside where treatment can cost up to £7,000 a week.
During his stay he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory tract infection.
He recovered and left the centre on October 14, 2025.
A post-mortem report found that the Prince did not have any chronic or acute illnesses but had experienced a cardiac arrest due to the combination of drugs and alcohol.
The Assistant Coroner Jean Harkin said he did not believe the Prince had intended to take his own life.
He noted that reports from the Priory and Rainford Hall said there had been no concerns, that the Prince had not told anyone he wanted to commit suicide and said there was no note in his room.
There was also no evidence of third-party involvement.
Mrs Harkin recorded a verdict of death by misadventure with the cause of death as multi-drug ingestion.
She added: “I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Abdullah.”
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