Princess Beatrice wishes she could ‘do something private’ for wedding, royal expert claims

Prince Andrew’s scandal has left an ‘ugliness’ around Princess Beatrice’s wedding and the bride-to-be wishes she could ‘take off to Italy and do something private’, a  royal expert has claimed.

Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter revealed how there had been ‘a lot of talk’ about how Princess Beatrice, 31, would have loved to travel abroad for a ‘low-key’ wedding where there would be ‘a lot less scrutiny’.

Beatrice, the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, is set to marry Italian property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi, 36, in May at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace. 

Speaking to Australian website 9Honey, Victoria said: ‘I feel for [Princess Beatrice and Edo] a little bit because there is so much ugliness surrounding Prince Andrew at the moment and so by extension that does trickle down to his daughters.’ 

Last week, a source revealed how Princess Beatrice had altered wedding plans to be smaller than originally desired because of the furore surrounding Prince Andrew.

Despite her desire to avoid scrutiny and negative press, Victoria said Beatrice ultimately wanted to have the wedding in the UK, because of her closeness to the Queen and Prince Philip, who would be unlikely to travel abroad. 

And while all three of the royal weddings within the last two years have taken place in the grand Windsor Castle, Victoria said a more ‘low-key’ event was actually more suited to Princess Beatrice’s style.

She said: ‘No bride wants to be compared to the bride that has gone before, so I think with Beatrice we’re going to see something smaller…I think she’s going to be keen to keep negative press at bay.’  

She said the ‘ugliness’ surrounding Prince Andrew had ‘trickled down’ to overshadow Princess Beatrice’s big day (pictured together in June 2019 at Ascot) 

She added that while both Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, 29, are ‘both lovely’, Beatrice was actually more of an introvert than her ‘gregarious’ sister. 

She said it is Eugenie who has ‘all the famous friends’, and is ‘out and about a bit more’ than elder Beatrice, who will want ‘a more personal wedding’. 

Beatrice and Edo had been together for 11 months at the time they announced their engagement in September last year.

Father-of-one Edo proposed with a ring estimated to have cost £100,000, while the pair were holidaying in Italy.

The royal commentator also revealed how Princess Eugenie is the ‘more gregarious’ sister and is more of ‘an extrovert’ than elder Princess Beatrice (pictured together in June 2018) 

Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duty in November following a car crash interview with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis (pictured, during the interview) 

The scandal surrounding Prince Andrew’s friendship with Epstein intensified in December after a second woman who was allegedly abused by billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein claimed she had sex with the duke.

This came after the prince denied sleeping with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell – who is accused of trafficking in young women for Epstein.

His royal resignation in November followed a car crash interview with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis, after which he was lambasted by critics for failing to show regret or empathy for Epstein’s victims.

The prince has categorically denied having any knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls.