Why Prince William used to ‘hate’ Princess Beatrice’s choice of men

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Image and David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The National Gallery/Future)

By Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse

published 14 August 2022

A paranoid Prince William reportedly snubbed Princess Beatrice's boyfriend for being “indiscreet”

Princess Beatrice married Edoardo “Edo” Mapelli Mozzi at a private ceremony on Friday 17 July 2020
Before she met her husband, the royals dating history was a cause for concern, with none more worried than her cousin Prince William.
In other royal news, Prince Charles has been slammed in a new HBO Princess Diana documentary over this heartbreaking Prince Harry birth story

Before Princess Beatrice found her happily ever after, married Edoardo “Edo” Mapelli Mozzi at a fairy tale wedding, and welcomed her first child in 2021, her dating history caused much worry for the royal family - namely, Prince William.

Experts revealed to GeoNews that Prince William reportedly used to ‘hate’ Princess Beatrice’s relationships and choices of men - and not just because she once dated a convicted felon.

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Princess Beatrice and Prince William — (Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

In 2006, one of Beatrice’s relationships made headlines for all the wrong reasons. At the time, the Belfast Telegraph reported that the then 17 year old princess was romantically involved with a 24 year old man who had been arrested for manslaughter.

Her then-partner was an American man names Paolo Liuzzo. He was arrested for manslaughter after beating a 19 year old college student in Massachusetts to death. Though the manslaughter charge was later dropped and Liuzzo did community service instead of serious prison time, news of the relationship created waved in the royal family and shocked fans of the young princess.

After news hit of the unlikely pairing, several news outlets picked up the story and Beatrice’s mother, Sarah Ferguson, was forced to release a statement. It read, “As any parent will know, the most important element in a relationship with your child is trust. We all have our own journeys and have to learn our way, but Beatrice is a sensible girl … with many friends including Paolo. We must trust her judgment.”

Beatrice's parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, even invited Liuzzo along on a family skiing trip, which actually landed him back in court as the trip violated his probation. Luckily for the family who try to steer clear of scandal, he and the princess called it quits soon after.

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The princess then dated another American called Dave Clark. The pair were set up by her cousin Prince William, who knew Clark from his university days at St. Andrews in Scotland. The Prince clearly saw a suitable match for the royal, perhaps aiming to steer her away from any other controversial partners, and introduced them at a birthday party for Pierce Brosnan’s son, Sean Brosnan.

They began dating and stayed together for several years. But the relationship turned sour when Prince William and Clark started feuding and the Prince left Beatrice's beau off the guest list for his 2011 wedding.

The reason for the royals change of heart was reportedly because William thought Clark was “indiscreet.”

A source told the Daily Mail, “William has the Spencer paranoia gene. Dave is a gregarious, chatty American and William is so private it hurts. He would accuse his dog of being indiscreet if it barked at someone else too often."

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Following Kate and William's nuptials, Clark attempted to “smooth things over” with William when they attended Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding a few weeks later, but no amount of grovelling would change the Prince's mind.

“[Clark] was very friendly to [William] to show he didn’t mind [not getting an invite to the royal wedding],” an insider told Express.com. Although he tried to be polite, journalist Catherine Ostler said the “snub could not be erased.”

Luckily for Prince William, in 2016, Clark and Beatrice split. Prince William's dislike of the man cannot be cited as the full reasoning, though the future King's disapproval must have had some influence. The princess reportedly wanted to discuss marriage but Clark wasn’t willing to take things to the next level.

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer for Goodto.com. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.