Royal Wedding Alert! Princess Beatrice’s Wedding Date and Reception Details Revealed
It’ll be a spring wedding for Princess Beatrice and her fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi!
PEOPLE has confirmed that Beatrice, 31, and Mozzi, 36, will tie the knot on May 29. The location of the ceremony has yet to be revealed. Buckingham Palace is expected to make an announcement in the coming days.
The reception will take place at Buckingham Palace. According to insiders, the ceremony service could be close by — somewhere like the Royal Military Chapel, known as the Guards Chapel, which is a church located across the road from the palace.
Prince William and Kate Middleton also held their wedding reception at Buckingham Palace following their royal wedding at Westminster Abbey in 2011.
Unlike Kate, Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie’s royal weddings, Beatrice’s nuptials will be a “low-key” affair,” says a source, which is what the couple has always wanted.
The wedding will take place after the Queen’s palace garden parties, which take place in mid-May. Beatrice and her sister Eugenie will likely be in attendance at one of their grandmother’s parties.
Beatrice and Mozzi, who announced their engagement in September, celebrated with a glam party in London in December. While guests included several celebrity pals, the bride-to-be’s mother Sarah Ferguson and sister Princess Eugenie, Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew was absent from the event.
Andrew likely skipped the party, which was thrown by Mozzi’s mother at Chiltern Firehouse, due to the ongoing controversy surrounding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In the months following Beatrice’s happy news, her dad made headlines for his relationship with the disgraced financier, who died by suicide while in federal custody. In November, Andrew announced that he is “stepping back from public duties.”
A source tells PEOPLE that Prince Andrew will likely play a major part in his daughter’s wedding despite the scandal.
“I definitely think he will walk her down the aisle,” the source says. “He plays a very traditional role in her life. She’s his greatest supporter.”
RELATED: The Sweet Way Princess Eugenie Took Part in Her Sister Princess Beatrice’s Engagement
“This is obviously very hard times,” says the insider, adding, “Beatrice would never do anything to be hurtful to her father. He’s going to be by her side and she’s going to be by his.”
Beatrice announced her engagement to the multi-millionaire property tycoon in September after they got engaged during a trip to Italy.
The couple said in a statement: “We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can’t wait to be married.
“We share so many similar interests and values and we know that this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.”
Edoardo has a son from a previous relationship with Dara Huang.
“I wish the best for Edo and Beatrice and look forward to uniting our families,” Huang said in a statement.
Speculation began in November 2018 that romance had blossomed between Beatrice and Edoardo.
Edoardo is a friend of Beatrice’s family, a source previously told PEOPLE. Despite rumors that they were introduced recently, they have known each other for years – and, friends say, they certainly didn’t need to go through a formal introduction to each other’s parents.
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE‘s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Edoardo is the stepson of Christopher Shale, who made headlines when he died at the Glastonbury rock festival in 2011. Shale, who was close to the then-Prime Minister David Cameron, was an old friend of Beatrice’s parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Beatrice would have known his stepson for many years – and joined her parents at Shale’s funeral seven years ago.
