This is an opinion.
- Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi had planned to marry in an extravagant wedding in May.
- Due to the pandemic, these plans were shelved, and it was believed the wedding would take place next year instead.
- Reports then emerged that the couple had gone ahead with the wedding behind closed doors and in front of only 15 guests, including the Queen and Prince Philip.
It happened so quickly and quietly that there’s a good chance you may have even missed it. Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew, married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi behind closed doors this past week.
The wedding was the first royal ceremony carried out in private in over 230 years. The ceremony took place in front of close family and an “inner circle” of friends only.
The wedding was initially planned for May of this year, but the pandemic put paid to that.
Was Prince Andrew a deciding factor in the wedding happening now?
Rumors suggested that the wedding was planned for next year, but did the Prince Andrew scandal play a part in it happening now, and in secret?
Dario Mapelli Mozzi, a cousin once removed of the groom, told the Daily Mail:
We heard it was postponed to next year, but that was clearly to keep it secret. Maybe they did it now to be sure that the Queen could be there. Or perhaps because of the problems with her father, they didn’t want to go overboard with publicity in case anyone criticized them.
The wedding that took place was a far cry from the original plans
Initially, the wedding between Princess Beatrice and Edo was scheduled for the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, with a reception in the Buckingham Palace gardens.
Instead of the 150 guest extravaganza, the couple settled for a small, private affair with only 15 guests in attendance.
However, as well as allowing Prince Andrew to walk his daughter down the aisle without the media’s glare, the timing of the event also allowed for attendance by both the Queen and Prince Philip, which was incredibly important to Princess Beatrice.
There was also a feeling that a smaller, private wedding would not remove any media attention from the knighthood ceremony for Captain Tom in recognition of the $40 million he raised for the NHS.
The Prince Andrew scandal has been a trying time for his family
As the media frenzy regarding the friendship between Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein has continued over the past month or so, it’s easy to forget that besides Andrew, there is also his family who are dealing with the issue.
One family friend speaking to the Daily Mail commented:
Those children have been so devastated by it all, so it was really nice to have this wedding away from the public eye. They were all there, and Sarah kept the show on the road. Very, very few people were given any information about it.
One has to hope that the small, intimate wedding was indeed through choice and not foisted upon the Princess by the situation surrounding Prince Andrew.
Personally, I would rather have a smaller wedding which only involved the people who were important to me and my future husband, so perhaps even though it wasn’t what she dreamt of, Princess Beatrice may have enjoyed a smaller, more private ceremony more than she ever imagined she would.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.