LONDON Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter Princess Beatrice and property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi will tie the knot in May this year, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. “The wedding of HRH Princess Beatrice of York and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi will take place on Friday 29 May 2020. The couple became engaged in Italy in September 2019. The Queen has kindly given permission for the ceremony to take place at The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. The ceremony will be followed by a private reception, given by The Queen, in the gardens of Buckingham Palace,” said a statement issued by Buckingham Palace. Mapelli Mozzi is descended from Italian aristocracy. Beatrice, 31, is the daughter of Prince Andrew, who has recently been forced to defend himself over damaging accusations about his friendship with US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Queen’s granddaughter is understood to have accepted the monarch’s offer of a reception at Buckingham Palace as show of support after a bumpy few months for her family. Speaking last week to the Daily Mail, a friend said: “Bea was delighted and very grateful to accept. “It was a really special gesture as it will be the first wedding celebration at Buckingham Palace since William and Catherine’s in 2011.” The three most recent royal nuptials were all held at Windsor Castle. Harry, 35,wed Meghan Markle, 38, in May 2018, while Eugenie, 29, married Jack Brooksbank, 34, that October. Last year, Lady Gabriella Windsor, 38, exchanged vows with businessman Thomas Kingston in the same location. It had been thought that Beatrice and Edoardo – who joined Her Majesty at Sandringham for Christmas – would probably hold the ceremony at the Guards’ Chapel at Wellington Barracks. However, that remained unconfirmed as the Duke of York’s role as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards has been in doubt since he “stepped back” from royal duties in November. It comes after we exclusively revealed that Beatrice was furious at being forced to put off announcing the date of her wedding for a second time due to her father’s links to the Epstein scandal. Previously, it was thought that she would marry Edoardo in June on a date that didn’t clash with her grandmother’s beloved Royal Ascot.—AFP
