Princess Beatrice and her fiancé, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, have made the formal announcement that their wedding will not go forward as planned in May. People reported that the announcement from the United Kingdom government that the country’s lockdown would last at least three more weeks made the idea of holding the ceremony, which was scheduled for May 29, impossible.
A source told the publication that, because of concerns related to the coronavirus, invitations were never actually sent out.
The wedding between Beatrice and Mozzi was originally set to be held at St. James’s Palace in London, with a reception to follow at Queen Elizabeth’s gardens at Buckingham Palace. As of right now, there has been no change to those plans.
“There are no plans to switch venues or hold a bigger wedding. They aren’t even thinking about their wedding at this time. There will come a time to rearrange, but that’s not yet,” a spokesperson said to People.
Previous reporting had suggested that Mozzi and Beatrice — who is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson — were considering hosting a private wedding for friends and family amid the pandemic. They had also previously announced that the reception would no longer be taking place.
A friend of the couple informed People that the couple had become realistic about the fact that the wedding wouldn’t be happening on schedule. Like many couples that are scheduled to be married, they had to face the reality that they couldn’t proceed with their original plans.
Friends have also told the magazine that the wedding has been the last thing on their mind in recent weeks as a result of other stresses and challenges related to the pandemic. Beatrice and Mozzi’s ceremony was already set to be a smaller affair than the weddings of Prince Harry and Prince William. They were not planning to have a carriage procession, which was reportedly in line with their desire to have a smaller ceremony.
Prince Andrew — who has stepped down from his duties as a member of the royal family following controversy around his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein — was set to walk his daughter down the aisle. In a statement released following the announcement that he would step back from his role as a royal, Andrew said that he unequivocally regretted his “ill-judged association” with Epstein, USA Today reported.
In spite of the controversy , People reports that Beatrice still maintains a fairly normal relationship with her father.
“She’s his greatest supporter,” a source told the magazine.