Princess Beatrice wedding doubts over guests’ travel
THE coronavirus outbreak has cast doubt over the guest list for Princess Beatrice’s wedding, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who is marrying the Queen’s granddaughter in London on May 29, is from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, the first to be quarantined. On Monday evening, the whole country was placed in confinement after a surge of almost 2,000 cases in 24 hours.
Although born and raised in England, “Edo”, 37, who holds dual British and Italian citizenship, still has ties to the Bergamo area where his family’s ancestral seat, the Villa Mapelli Mozzi, is. With travel bans looming, there are also fears about guests flying in from overseas.
A royal insider said: “The coronavirus has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. Although there is no suggestion that Italy will remain in lockdown until the end of May, obviously, the whole thing does cast doubt over the guest list.”
The insider suggested it might also affect who Mr Mapelli Mozzi can invite to his stag do, but a spokesman for the couple insisted he only had “distant relatives” in Italy.
The outbreak, which has so far killed more than 4,000 people worldwide, is also raising questions over the Duke of Edinburgh’s attendance at the ceremony at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, and reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Philip, who turns 99 in June, is currently living in a state of self-imposed isolation at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate, while the 93-yearold monarch is dividing her time between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Having been treated in hospital over the Christmas period for a pre-existing condition, the Duke is now understood to be spending his days reading and sorting through paperwork.
Royal author Phil Dampier, who has written three books about the Duke, said: “If the coronavirus reaches Italian proportions in the UK, I seriously doubt he would run the risk of travelling to London for Beatrice’s wedding.
“He has not been coming into contact with many people in recent weeks.
“The Queen is soldiering on, and at moment, there are no plans to cancel any of the garden parties planned for the summer.
“But if the coronavirus gets worse, I can’t imagine the palace powers that be will want her meeting and greeting thousands of people, not at her age.”
Last week, the Queen wore gloves during an investiture ceremony for the first time in at least a decade, and yesterday, there were no handshakes as she greeted Saroja Sirisena, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, and her husband, Dr Sudath Talpahewa, at her London residence.
It came after a handshake ban was imposed on the Royal family and dignitaries at Monday’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
Mr Mapelli Mozzi – who is the son of France-based Count Alessandro “Alex” Mapelli-mozzi, a former British Olympian, and his British first wife, Nicola Burrows – proposed to Princess Beatrice, 31, during a trip to Capri last September. The couple took a boat ride along the Amalfi coast to the cliffside village of Positano.
It is thought that they had originally wanted to marry in Italy, but decided on the UK so that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh would not have to travel far.