On 17th July 2020 HRH Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Beatrice is a grandaughter of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, being the daughter of their third child Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his former wife Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Beatrice has known her now-husband for many years, as they are family friends. They started dating on 2018, and become engaged the following year. Edoardo has a son, known as Wolfie, from a previous marriage. He was pageboy and best man. You can read more about the couple’s relationship in our previous blog post about their engagement, here: https://b-jchristian.wixsite.com/royalbritannia/post/princess-beatrice-of-york-s-engagement
The wedding was originally due to take place on 29th May 2020 at the Chapel Royal of St James’s Palace, in London. But, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the wedding was postponed. Now that government guidelines allow weddings to take place with up to 30 socially distanced guests, the wedding took place on 17th July. It was a, “secret,” wedding, with Buckingham Palace not revealing the date in advance, and only announcing it had taken place after the event. Official photos were released the next day, as he couple did not want to overshadow the knighthood ceremony of Captain Tom Moore, which took place in the afternoon of the same day. At the ceremony, the Queen spoke to the Captain, and said that earlier that day she had attended her granddaughter's wedding.
The wedding took place at The Chapel Royal of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor. This is a small chapel that the Queen uses as her regular place of worship when staying at Windsor, and other royals, such as the Queen Mother, have done the same. Today, Royal Lodge is home to the Duke of York and his family, so in effect Beatrice was marrying at her home parish church. In the official photos released, the chapel was bedecked in flowers around the door, and looked beautiful. It is only a short walk from Royal Lodge.
The ceremony took place at 11am, with a small number of guests. Buckingham Palace revealed that the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended, but did not specify the other guests. One of the official photos, taken by Benjamin Wheeler, show the couple socially distanced from the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, and the other 3 official photos are just of the couple themselves. It is thought that the mothers of the bride and groom read out the couple’s 2 favourite poems, I Carry You In My Heart by E E Cummings and Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. The bible reading was from 1 Corinthians chapter 13. In line with government guidelines, no songs were sung, but music and the national anthem were played.
The Princess wore a vintage Norman Hartnell gown that belonged to the Queen, and wore the Queen Mary Diamond Fringe tiara, also lent to her by the Queen. It is the same tiara worn by the Queen on her own wedding day. I think it is extremely lovely that the princess wore a vintage dress. It is fashionable, and shows the strength of family ties between the Queen and the Princess. It is also a way to help save the planet, by re-using a dress. The Queen wore the dress on several occasions, including the state opening of parliament. Princess Beatrice updated the dress slightly by adding capped sleeves. The Princess styled her hair in loose curls, and wore minimal natural makeup.
The Bridal bouquet flowers were trailing jasmine, pale pink and cream sweet peas, royal porcelain ivory spray roses, pink O'Hara garden roses, pink waxflower, baby pink astilbe and sprigs of myrtle. A sprig of myrtle is traditionally added to royal brides' bouquets, started by Queen Victoria. A sprig from her bouquet was planted, and all the myrtle sprigs have descended from that one. The church was decorated with pink and white delphiniums, roses, waxflower and hydrangeas from Windsor Great Park. The big archway of flowers was designed by florist Rob Van Helden. His sister, Patrice, designed the bridal bouquet.
Buckingham Palace did not reveal the details of the wedding reception, but it has been reported that the couple set up glamping pods, a bar, and a marquee with catering by a company serving indian cuisine, for invited guests. We know that the York’s like to throw a good party, so I expect the wedding reception is no exception! The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh did not attend. I expect the couple will have a bigger celebration with all of their friends and family they would have wished to have been there, when government guidelines allow.
Overall, I am so pleased that the couple were able to get married, despite lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic. It is especially wonderful that the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh could attend. I loved the small, intimate atmosphere, and the simplicity of the beautiful flowers, and the dress and styling of the bride.