Princess Beatrice and Edo Mozzi are mulling over a move to the US to get marriage back on track and escape her parents’ Epstein scandal

There can be little doubt that the lives of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s children have been profoundly impacted by the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Following the arrest of their father and apparent disappearance of their mother, Princess Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie have been thrust into an unwelcome spotlight. 

Public scrutiny of the sisters has become more intense than ever after the huge cache of files released by the US Department of Justice revealed the paedophile financier had a far more significant presence in their lives than had been previously understood.

While they have not been accused of wrongdoing, the sisters have faced growing questions over their royal standing, along with pressure to break their silence over their links with the disgraced businessman, who died in 2019.

The scrutiny has perhaps been most profound in the case of older sister Beatrice, 37, amid reports there has been a notable distance between her and her dashing husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi as the crisis unfolded.

Beatrice is said to be ‘mortified’ by the Epstein scandal and ‘desperate to hold things together’ in the face of adversity.

Meanwhile, her husband, who is known as Edo, appeared to be more concerned about promoting his property business after he jetted off on trips to Miami and Los Angeles in recent weeks – leaving his wife behind to apparently face the music alone.

Now the Daily Mail can reveal Edo, 42, may have had other matters on his mind aimed at preserving his six-year marriage and the couple’s future happiness.

Insiders told how the couple are mulling over plans to escape the furore back home, once and for all, by starting a new life abroad.

A royal source said it is most likely the couple would relocate to the United States – following in the footsteps of Beatrice’s cousin Prince Harry.

Beatrice is also said to have taken on board how well a move away from the UK has worked for Eugenie after she established a home in Portugal with her husband, Jack Brooksbank back in 2022.

The source told the Daily Mail: ‘Her sister Eugenie has lived abroad for many years now and that set the precedent.

‘It would have been unthinkable a few years ago but now times are very different.

‘Moving abroad, most likely to the United States, would be a fresh start for Beatrice and Edo and it would also mean they could give their marriage a kick start and get it back on track.’

The source added: ‘The feeling is that if they stay in the UK they will just be sitting ducks because, let’s face it, the Andrew and Sarah problem isn’t going to go away.

‘There is the police investigation which will last several months and if Andrew is charged then there will be a trial and that’s just more attention they can do without.

‘A move to the United States would certainly seem obvious for them. Edo spends a lot of time there so I can easily see them moving there.

‘Both sisters are in touch with their cousin Harry, and he has been offering them advice and there was talk of them staying in California for a while.’

Beatrice is said to be at a particularly low ebb as it was she who encouraged her father to take part in his car crash 2019 Newsnight interview – famously turning up with a notebook and pen at a meeting with producers.

She and her sister have hardly been seen since Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office before he was infamously photographed in the back of a car being driven away from a police station in February.

Meanwhile their mother Sarah Ferguson has managed to keep an extraordinarily low profile as deeply embarrassing details of her close bond to Epstein were revealed in the damaging files.

Speaking of Andrew’s arrest and the impact it had on his daughters, the source said: ‘That really hit the sisters hard and especially Beatrice because she needed Edo with her and he was away with work in the United States, drumming up trade for his property business.

‘She needed a shoulder to cry on, but he wasn’t there for her and that really upset her but they are desperate to make a good go of things. They know how things appear, but they want to really try.’

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Edo, the son of an Italian count, was on an extended business trip to the US.

During his time in Miami, he was spotted on Fisher Island – an exclusive sun-kissed destination popular with A-list celebrities that is only accessible by ferry or private yacht.

He posted now-deleted photographs of himself dressed in a pastel pink suit, a casual shirt and loafers as he promoted his company, enjoying a chilled glass of rosé on the rooftop of the Mr C Miami hotel and reclining outside the Art Deco Colony Hotel in Palm Beach

There were further images of him in Los Angeles as he travelled back and forth from the UK and America.

Against this backdrop, Beatrice was at home with their two daughters Sienna, four, and one-year-old Athena, watching as the unedifying spectacle of her father being arrested unfolded on prime-time television.

The source added of Edo: ‘He knows now that wasn’t a good look and the timing was unfortunate, but he was genuinely there for work and his brand is seen as very marketable in the United States.

‘To say Beatrice wasn’t amused is an understatement but if moving abroad means keeping their marriage together then so be it and Edo has told her his company is roaring along.’

Beatrice is said to have spoken at length to Eugenie about living overseas, as she is in Portugal for six months of the year with her husband.

The attraction of life in the sun away from the glare of publicity is a prospect that could prove irresistible, the source said.

It was late 2018 that Princess Beatrice first unveiled her new boyfriend to her parents, though the two families had known each other for years.

His father Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi is a former Alpine skier who represented Great Britain at the 1972 Winter Olympics.

The count and Edo’s mother Nikki divorced when he and his sister, Natalia, were very young, and his father later moved to France.

Nikki remarried and Edo was brought up to become very close to his businessman stepfather, Christopher Shale, former prime minister David Cameron’s constituency chairman and close personal friend in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

Shale died aged just 56 in 2011, and Andrew and Fergie, together with their daughters, were among the congregation at his memorial service.

The link between Shale’s family and Fergie’s goes back many years. Before she became Duchess of York, he employed her as a secretary in a public relations company.

Edo and Beatrice tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at Windsor’s Royal Chapel of All Saints in 2020 – during the Covid pandemic.

Edo also has a son Wolfie, aged two at the time, with his former fiancee Dara Huang.

Architect Dara was said to be ‘stunned’ after their split but wished the couple ‘all the best’ and told how she was looking forward to them ‘uniting our families’.

The source added: ‘Edo was an old family friend, and Sarah and Andrew were delighted when Beatrice told them she was going out with him – they were over the moon.

‘They thought that he was a lovely man and successful in his own right and would look after Beatrice.

‘They had known him for years, so they were delighted when they got together.

‘He slotted into the family really well and Beatrice seemed to take like a duck to water being a stepmother to little Wolfie and that worked out well.’

The source added of the couple’s marriage: ‘They really want to make it work, for the sake of their two daughters but also Wolfie, her stepson, who Beatrice has really taken to heart.’

Beatrice and Edo have denied their marriage is in trouble and Edo has insisted his trips abroad were made as he simply tried to ‘build my business’.

He has made a great success of his property business Banda which he started aged just 23.

And it certainly appears his royal connections have helped boost his profile.

When he began dating Beatrice in 2018 his business’s two main subsidiaries – Banda Design and Banda Property – were both reporting losses.

In 2020, Banda was a niche concern specialising in locating and developing upmarket homes for the rich, mainly in and around London.

Today, it grandiosely calls itself a ‘multi-disciplinary property practice, covering property search and acquisition, development, project management, architecture and interior design all over the world’.

It employs some 60 members of staff, more than three times the figure six years ago.

Indeed, the latest records from Companies House show that Banda Design Ltd, its interior design arm, reported a turnover of £2.2million in 2024, and retained profits of £774,353.

The source said: ‘The question now though is whether he’s used his royal connections excessively, he entered a very different world to what he was used to, when he married Beatrice.

‘He began mixing in royal circles, meeting the late Queen, the then Prince Charles, Camilla, going to Ascot, Sandringham and other family events.

‘Edo has been photographed at all these events and that certainly opens doors, especially in the United States and that has really helped his business take off.

‘He’s become even more successful since he married into the royals, but they have this sword of Damocles hanging over them with Andrew, Sarah and the Epstein Files.’

There could also be other advantages of relocating more than 4,000 miles from home.

Speaking of Beatrice’s scandal-hit mother the source points out: ‘They don’t want Sarah living with them and Eugenie feels the same, so to escape it all I wouldn’t be surprised if they move to the United States.

‘At some point Sarah will have to come back and face the music and neither sister wants her living with them, they see her as an embarrassment.

‘So if Edo feels his future is in the United States then that is a definite option for them.’