Princess Beatrice turns down carriage ride and procession for wedding in favour of 'low key' reception in back garden
She only got engaged a matter of weeks ago - but Princess Beatrice has reportedly already declined a carriage ride, procession and Windsor castle reception for her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The Duke and Duchess of York’s eldest daughter, 31, is said to have told her parents she is in favour of a “low-key” and “casual” reception at a non-royal venue when she marries the 34-year-old Italian property developer next year.
According to the Daily Mail, the bride-to-be has refused to have a televised ceremony like her younger sister Princess Eugenie, 29, when she wed now-husband Jack Brooksbank a year ago.
Video: How Princess Beatrice's Wedding Will Differ from Sister Princess Eugenie’s
It has been suggested Beatrice and Edoardo - who announced their engagement on Instagram - could opt for a marquee in the garden of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
READ MORE: Duchess of York shares joy over Princess Beatrice's engagement - 'It's just extraordinary'
A friend of the Queen’s granddaughter told the paper: “Beatrice has said she and Edo are looking at alternative venues because she wants something different.
“The wedding will not be in Italy and from what they are saying it won’t be in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, either.
“There have been three big royal weddings there in the past year or so and I’m not sure that’s what Bea wants.
“Edo has a child, there’s the situation with his ex, and Beatrice might just feel something more low-key might be more fitting.”
READ MORE: Princess Beatrice's '£100,000 engagement ring' was designed by fiancé
Since Beatrice dropped down to ninth-in-line to the throne - following the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s baby son Archie in May - she didn’t have to ask the Queen’s permission to marry father-of-one Edoardo, and now also doesn’t have to follow official protocol when it comes to her wedding.
it also comes at a time when royal expenditure is under greater scrutiny - it emerged following Eugenie’s wedding that it had cost the taxpayer about £2 million to police.
The royal bride revealed in September via Princess Eugenie’s Instagram account that she is to wed Edoardo - who has a two-year-old son Christopher with ex-fiancé architect Dara Huang, 37 - following an 11-month romance.
Although they have known each other for several years, they are believed to have begun dating after meeting at her sister’s wedding last October.
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Edoardo, who proposed to the royal in Italy with a £100,000 ring, is the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and ex-wife Nikki Shale.
In a statement released to mark the engagement, they said: “We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement.
“We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can't wait to actually be married.”
