Queen's granddaughter Princess Beatrice weds in secret ceremony: Report

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi had been due to marry at St James's Palace in London with 150 guests in May but postponed the plans amid the coronavirus lockdown. Beatrice had been engaged to Mozzi, the son of former British Olympian and Italian nobleman Count Alessandro Mapelli-Mozzi, since September 2018.

London:Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter Princess Beatrice married her millionaire property developer fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a secret ceremony in Windsor on Friday, according to a UK media report.

The Queen, 94, and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, joined their son Prince Andrew at the scaled-down coronavirus-secure wedding with around 20 guests, The Sun newspaper reported.

Beatrice, 31, and Mozzi, 37, had been due to marry at the Chapel Royal, at St James's Palace in London with 150 guests in May but postponed the plans amid the coronavirus lockdown. Instead, a select group gathered for a more intimate ceremony with strict social distancing measures in place, the newspaper said.

The monarch and Prince Philip were driven from Windsor Castle, where the couple has been isolating since March when the UK went into lockdown, through Windsor Great Park to the private church for the wedding ceremony.

It came amid Beatrice's father Prince Andrew being under some pressure since he was forced to step back from royal duties over his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his socialite ex-girlfriend Ghislane Maxwell, who was recently arrested in the US.

Prince Andrew vehemently denies accusations of his involvement in any criminal activity related to the duo and there had been questions over whether he would be walking his daughter down the aisle at any official royal wedding.

"A massive wedding was out of the question because of coronavirus. They were obviously very keen for the Queen to come so the wedding had to happen before she goes up to Balmoralso this was a great opportunity, a friend of Beatrice told the newspaper.

"They needed to make the wedding secure and safe for the Queen so what better way than the All Saints Chapel with reception on son-site the Royal Lodge. They are just like a normal family and had to make sacrifices like many others have up and down the country and looking forward to having a wonderful celebration when the time is right," the friend said.

The Sun said that Beatrice reportedly spent the night before the wedding at the grand Royal Lodge with mother Sarah Ferguson and father Andrew, before making the walk to the church in the grounds.

She had been engaged to Mozzi, the son of former British Olympian and Italian nobleman Count Alessandro Mapelli-Mozzi, since September 2018.

Her younger sister Princess Eugenie had married her wine merchant fianceJack Brooksbank at a start-studded royal wedding ceremony in Windsor Castle in October 2018.

PTI