Princess Beatrice’s wedding may have been secret because of Prince Andrew’s “problems”.
The 31-year-old married property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a secret ceremony in All Saints Chapel, Windsor Great Park on Friday.
In a shock statement, the Palace said: “The private wedding ceremony of Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi took place at 11am on Friday 17th July at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor.”
“The small ceremony was attended by The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and close family. The wedding took place in accordance with all relevant Government guidelines.”
The couple were originally set to wed at St James’s Palace in London back in May, but their plans were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dario Mapelli Mozzi, Edoardo’s cousin once removed, has since told the Daily Mail: “We heard it was postponed to next year but that was clearly to keep it secret.”
“Maybe they did it now to be sure that the Queen could be there,” he said, before adding, “Or perhaps because of the problems with her father they didn’t want to go overboard with publicity in case anyone criticised them.”
The news comes amid reports Prince Andrew may be called as a witness in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial.
The British socialite was arrested earlier this month, and charged in relation to Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex crimes.
Following Ghislaine’s arrest, US attorney Audrey Strauss said she “would welcome Prince Andrew coming in to talk with us.”
During a press conference, she said, “We would like to have the benefit of his statement,” prompting speculation that the Duke may be called in for questioning.
Last year, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims Virginia Roberts Guiffre claimed Ghislaine helped him groom teen girls for sex.
Speaking to NBC’s Dateline last November, Virginia alleged that Jeffrey directed her to have sex with a number of powerful men – including Prince Andrew.
The Duke of York later denied her claims in a controversial Newsnight interview, in which he addressed his former friendship with Jeffrey.
On this week’s episode of the Gosscast, Goss.ie Founder Ali Ryan and Goss.ie Editor Kendra Becker discuss Johnny Depp’s explosive libel trial, involving his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Plus as Meghan Markle’s battle against the press continues, the girls discuss her latest attempt to protect her image – amid her lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday.
The Gosscast is available on all usual platforms, including iTunes and Spotify.
