Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in secret Friday morning. The intimate ceremony happened with some royal fanfare—Queen Elizabeth was one of the 20 close loved ones in attendance—but with a serious downgrade.
They planned to marry in a classic royal fashion on May 29th in London, but amid the coronavirus epidemic and her father Prince Andrew‘s ongoing sex scandal, she opted to go low-key. Andrew, who has been linked to the late convicted sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein, and who has been accused of engaging in sex traffic himself, walked her down the aisle, according to The Daily Mail. Other reports said Andrew was not present; he did not appear in official shots released by The Royal Family.
Friday’s ceremony was the first “secret” royal wedding in the past 235 years. (The last one was George IV, who married his mistress Maria Fitzherbert in 1785). Beatrice, 31, and Edoardo, 37, married at All Saints Church at the Queen’s Windsor estate. Her grandmother the Queen, 94, and her grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, were the only royals present beside the bride and her immediate family, including her mother Sarah and her sister Princess Eugenie.
Beatrice wore a vintage dress the Queen loaned her. Edoardo’s son Wolfie, who is 4, served as his “mini best man,” making Beatrice the first blood princess to become a stepmother.
Andrew is reportedly wanted for questioning by the FBI over his connections to Epstein.