Princess Beatrice’s wedding heartache.
WILL PRINCESS BEATRICE’S BIG DAY SURVIVE THE RECENT ROYAL DRAMAS?
Aroyal wedding is normally a highly anticipated public event. But that hasn’t been the case for Princess Beatrice, whose upcoming nuptials to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have been overshadowed by the recent spate of royal dramas.
Shortly after Beatrice’s September 2019 engagement announcement, allegations ramped up about her father Prince Andrew’s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal. Things only worsened after he attempted to set the record straight in a disastrous television interview.
“Bea and her sister Eugenie are the innocent victims of the Prince Andrew/jeffrey Epstein scandal,” noted royal expert Phil Dampier.
The fallout saw Prince Andrew stripped of his royal duties – and, amid the crisis, Beatrice’s upcoming wedding plans were quietly shelved.
But, new reports reveal that the 31-year-old will tie the knot on May 29 with the reception held at Buckingham Palace.
Insiders also suggest that the ceremony will likely take place at the Royal Military Chapel, located across the road from the palace.
Despite this joyous news, there have still been rumblings that it shouldn’t be a taxpayerfunded affair, resulting in the palace taking the extraordinary step of announcing that the wedding would be “paid for privately”.
“Beatrice has had to change plans for her wedding several times and it must be very stressful,” Dampier said. “Weddings are stressful at the best of times without all this extra scrutiny.”
There were even questions around whether it was appropriate for Andrew to walk his daughter down the aisle.
But, despite the scandal surrounding Andrew, Beatrice will want her dad to play a big role in her wedding.
“I definitely think he will walk her down the aisle,” a source tells People magazine.
“He plays a very traditional role in her life. She’s his greatest supporter.”
The new year held the potential of a fresh start for the soon-to-be newlyweds.
But just a few weeks later, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the shock announcement that they were stepping back as senior royals to move abroad. ‘Megxit’ has since dominated the news cycle – meaning once again, plans for Bea’s upcoming wedding have taken a back seat.
Furthermore, two major British television networks
– the BBC and ITV – both boldly declared that they would
not broadcast the nuptials, making people question if this is due to the recent Prince Andrew saga.
It’s a far cry from her sister Princess Eugenie’s 2018 wedding to her husband Jack Brooksbank.
Taking place just months after the lavish and beloved wedding of Harry and Meghan, Princess Eugenie’s nuptials came at a moment when public sentiment towards the monarchy was at an all-time high. As a result, it featured all the trappings of a royal wedding spectacle and was broadcast live to viewers around the world.
Unfortunately, Beatrice’s big day will be nothing like her younger sister’s – but Phil stresses that the couple never intended their wedding to be on that same “grand scale”.
“There certainly won’t be a carriage ride around the streets,” Dampier says.
“The public wouldn’t want it because of Andrew, the cost – and also because they spent $63 million on Harry and Meghan’s wedding and now they have decamped to Canada!”
The royal expert even suggested to the Mirror that the couple may go so far as to take their wedding behind closed doors.
“Andrew is so toxic at the moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s going to be a private wedding with a couple of photos released afterwards.”
To make matters worse Edo’s relationship with his ex, Dara Huang, is also said to be causing problems for the couple. Edo shares 3-year-old son Wolfie with Dara and the pair have remained close since their split. Even though Beatrice knows she has nothing to worry about, it isn’t helping matters at the moment.
“Having initially been very cool about their friendship, Bea would rather there was a little more distance between Dara and Edo after all,” an insider told The Mail on Sunday.
As the dust settles on the recent series of royal scandals, the palace would undoubtedly be hoping that the next major news story will be all about Beatrice's wedding plans.
“All in all Bea has been very unlucky, but I’m sure when the day finally arrives she will have a great one,” Phil says.