Princess Beatrice has become engaged to tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Princess Beatrice has become engaged to property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Buckingham Palace has announced today.

The royal started dating the Italian property developer, 34, who is a father-of-one, in October last year.  

Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi said of their 11-month whirlwind romance 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 actually 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.’

The engagement pictures, taken by sister Princess Eugenie, see Beatrice wearing a green floral £595 Zimmerman dress and showing off her 3.5 carat engagement ring, estimated to have cost £100,000, along with a £2,730 Cartier love bracelet. 

Princess Beatrice’s engagement is a rare piece of good news for her father Prince Andrew amid claims Jeffrey Epstein’s death and claims he slept with one of his sex slaves have engulfed the House of York.

In recent weeks, the Duke of York’s friendship with the disgraced billionaire paedophile has drawn him into a scandal that has shaken the royal family.

A close-up of the ring designed by Edoardo and jewellery designer Shaun Leane shows a round cut diamond ring which is flanked by double baguettes on the band. 

The pair got engaged during a romantic trip to Italy this month, which saw them staying in the exclusive cliffside village of Positano, on the Amalfi Coast.  

This means Beatrice would be the first among the young generation of royals to take on a stepchild, as Edoardo was previously engaged for three-and-a-half years to the mother of his child, Dara Huang, whom he split from last year. 

The Duchess of Cornwall, of course, has become a stepmother to William and Harry and a stepgrandmother to Wills and Kate’s children George, Charlotte and Louis. 

Further black and white pictures taken by Misan Harriman at Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park show the pair cosying up to each other and giggling, and pulling playful faces. 

Posting the pictures to his Instagram account, Edoardo added the touching tribute: ‘You will never be alone my love, my heart is your home. Hand in hand, today, tomorrow and forever.’ 

Taking to Twitter, Beatrice tweeted: ‘I’m excited to announce my engagement to Edoardo’. 

Princess Beatrice’s sister Eugenie posted her congratulations on Instagram and shared a photograph taken by herself of the happy couple, adding: ‘Beabea – wow! I’m so happy for you my dearest big sissy and dear Edo.

‘It’s been a long time coming and you two are meant to be.’

Beatrice and Eugenie’s mother Sarah Feguson took to picture to share the engagement pictures, writing: ‘I know what a mother feels so I have tears of joy. I am so proud of this sensational news. Andrew and I are just the luckiest people ever to have two great sons in law.

‘Princess Eugenie took the colour photographs as my girls are so close. Beatrice and Edo wanted her to capture this special moment. The black and white photographs were taken by Misan Harriman at Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park.’ 

Photographer Misan Harriman, who took the black and white photos, added: ‘Everything clicks when they are together and that’s exactly what my lens captured. It was an honour to observe and document such love.’ 

Meanwhile, Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew said: ‘The Duke and Duchess of York are delighted to announce the engagement of Princess Beatrice to Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Her Royal Highness and Mr Mapelli Mozzi became engaged in Italy earlier this month. The wedding will take place in 2020. Further details will be announced in due course.⁣ ⁣ 

‘The 2nd photo shows Princess Beatrice’s engagement ring, which was designed by Edo in collaboration with the British jewellery designer Shaun Leane.⁣’ 

The ring is a fusion of Victorian and Art Deco designs and is accompanied by two additional matching bands in the distinctive Shaun Leane design hand.

Shaun Leane says of the design: ‘I am so honoured Edoardo chose to work with me to design the engagement ring for Princess Beatrice and to have been involved in this special moment in their lives.’

He added: ‘The bespoke experience was a beautiful journey from imagining the design with Edoardo to the crafting of the rings.’

‘Being able to incorporate both Edoardo and Princess Beatrice’s characters into the design has resulted in a unique ring that represents their love and lives entwining.’

The ring was crafted in hand in the Shaun Leane Mayfair atelier and is set with excellent cut diamonds of the highest colour and clarity, of which all are GIA certified and ethically sourced.

The bespoke experience began with a detailed and personal consultation with the groom.

Consequently, the design is filled with personal and sentimental signifiers for the couple and unique to them. 

London Jeweller, Susannah Lovis said: ‘Princess Beatrice’s is a beautiful engagement ring with a round brilliant cut diamond flanked by 4 baguette-cut diamonds. It is breath-taking particularly because all you can see is diamonds and the platinum band is hidden. It appears to be around 3.5 carats and would probably have cost in the region of £100,000.’

Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77Diamonds.com, Europe’s leading online diamond jeweller, added: ‘Princess Beatrice’s ring is a beautiful 3.5 carat round diamond, of medium quality, set in an art deco design, with tapered baguettes on each side of the centre stone.’ 

‘But while Meghan was given a cushion cut diamond, an older but more trendy diamond shape, Beatrice has been given the most popular and brightest diamond, a round, accompanied by a pair of tapered baguettes, which creates a very art deco look, which is very on trend as we are coming up to the 100 year anniversary of art deco and it is set to be the trend for 2020.’

Mozzi made his first official public appearance with Beatrice in March at the National Portrait Gallery gala, where they were joined by the Duchess of Cambridge.

Since then, the couple have been spotted together several times. 

Edoardo joined Beatrice, at Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston’s royal wedding in May, and he is obviously a hit with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson having joined them at several public events.

Mozzi, who has a son from a previous relationship, is also a friend of Princess Eugenie – whose wedding he attended last October.

Beatrice reportedly introduced Edoardo to her friendship group two months after they started dating, at an exclusive party thrown by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal in November.

The pair are believed to have known each other for years and Beatrice attended the funeral of Edoardo’s stepfather, Christopher Shale, who died at of a heart attack at Glastonbury in 2011 and was a close friend of David Cameron.

After their friendship developed into a romance, Beatrice was understood to have introduced Edoardo, whose father is Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi, as her ‘boyfriend’ to the Duke and Duchess of York.  

Edoardo is the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and Nikki Shale, is a count himself, and has been a friend of the Yorks for some time.

Mozzi is Beatrice’s first public boyfriend since she split from Uber executive Dave Clark in 2016 after 10 years together.

Engagement rumours have been swirling around the Queen’s granddaughter, 31, and the Italian property developer, 35, for months, with bookies suspending betting on an announcement last month. 

The royal started dating the father-of-one, who has since moved in with Beatrice at St James Palace, in the autumn of 2018.

He made his first official public appearance with the Duke of York’s daughter in March at the National Portrait Gallery gala, when joined by the Duchess of Cambridge and David and Victoria Beckham.

As ninth in line to the throne, Princess Beatrice doesn’t have to ask the Queen’s permission to marry as Prince William and Prince Harry did.

However, it is believed the royal would have disclosed her plans to her grandmother as they are said to have a close bond.

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo reportedly visited the Queen at her Balmoral estate in Scotland alongside her father Prince Andrew, mother Sarah Ferguson, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, recently told Hello!: ‘They’re going to get married – I was told by a member of the family. I think a wedding as early as next spring or summer is likely.’   

Mozzi, who has a son from a previous relationship, is also a friend of Princess Eugenie – whose wedding he attended last October.

He is Beatrice’s first public boyfriend since she split from Uber executive Dave Clark in 2016 after 10 years together.

If the couple do get engaged, it will be the fourth high-profile wedding ceremony in under two years.

And Beatrice could follow in the footsteps of her parents with a Westminster wedding, according to Ladbrokes.

The Princess of York announced her engagement on Thursday morning, after Ladbrokes suspended betting on a 2020 wedding for Beatrice and her beau last week.

And Westminster Abbey is the most likely spot at 2/1, where the Duke and Duchess of York tied the knot back in 1986.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: ‘An engagement announcement seemed inevitable as far as we were concerned, and now attention turns to potential dates and locations, with a spring Westminster wedding seemingly the most likely scenario.’

Beatrice’s wedding would follow Prince Harry’s day last May, Eugenie’s October wedding, and Lady Gabriella Windsor’s nuptials in May 2019.

Dara Huang, 37, who shares a two-year-old son Christopher ‘Woolfie’ Woolf with Edoardo.

Multi-millionaire Edoardo, 34, was engaged for three-and-a-half years to his Chinese-American fiancee and is thought to have started dating Beatrice, 31, while they were still living together after their relationship ended.

However a close family friend of Edo’s stated that the couple split six months before.

 Who is Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi?

The soon-to-be newest member of the royal family is a 36-year-old property developer with a toddler son from a previous relationship.

Known as Edo to friends, the millionaire has been credited with mending Beatrice’s broken heart following her split from Dave Clark in 2016 after 10 years together.

It is not the first time that Mapelli Mozzi has been betrothed, having once been engaged to the glamorous Chinese-American architect Dara Huang.

The pair, who as of last year were still sharing a London home despite their split , share a young son named Christopher Woolf.

Beatrice, who has known Edoardo for several years, is said to have begun dating the millionaire after meeting him again at Eugenie’s wedding in October last year.

Edoardo, the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and Nikki Shale, and has been a friend of the Yorks for some time. 

He  holds dual British and Italian citizenship but as solely a British citizen, Mr. Mozzi is not eligible for his father’s title.

His parents separated when he was young, and he has credited his mother Nikki’s career as an executive in commercial real estate for his early interest in property – now building up a multi-million pound portfolio.

He was educated at the prestigious Radley school in Oxfordshire before studying for a Master’s in politics at Edinburgh.

His stepfather and Nikki’s second husband was Christopher Shale, a senior Tory and a close friend of former prime minister David Cameron.

He died from heart disease in 2011 while in a toilet at Glasonbury Festival.

Beatrice and the rest of her family attended the funeral, with Nikki eventually marrying sculptor David Williams-Ellis.

The father-of-one is said to enjoy an amicable relationship with his former partner and prides himself on still being an active part of his son’s life.

In August he told the Telegraph: ‘I take [Christopher] to school a couple of mornings a week and finish in time to put him in bed three or four evenings.’