Queen delighted as granddaughter Princess Beatrice announces pregnancy

Watch: Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi expecting first child

Princess Beatrice is expecting her first child in the autumn, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The royal, who is one of the Queen's granddaughters, married in a secret ceremony in Windsor in July last year, when coronavirus restrictions had eased.

A statement from Buckingham Palace said: "Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in autumn of this year.

"The Queen has been informed and both families are delighted with the news."

Beatrice, 32, is the oldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

She became a stepmother after her marriage to Mozzi, as her property developer husband has a son, known as Wolfie, from a previous relationship.

The couple's first child will be the 12th great-grandchild for the Queen by the time he or she is born.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the Queen's 18 grandchildren and great-grandchildren

The baby will be 11th in line to the throne, pushing others below them down a place, and is unlikely to have any royal titles. Royal women do not traditionally have titles to pass on and no title was given to Mozzi when he married Beatrice.

The baby will be a cousin for August Philip Hawke Brooksbank - the firstborn of Beatrice's sister Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.

Also due to give birth this year is Meghan, the Queen's granddaughter-in-law, who is expecting a girl in the summer.

The Queen welcomed her 10th great-grandchild Lucas Philip Tindall earlier this year, the third child of Zara and Mike Tindall. Zara is Princess Anne's daughter.

Both Eugenie and Zara honoured their grandfather Prince Philip with their children's names, but it's not known if he was able to meet either of them before he died.

Beatrice borrowed a dress from the Queen for her wedding, which had been pushed back and scaled down owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The couple had been due to get married at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace in London, and were supposed to have their reception in the garden of Buckingham Palace.

But last spring, as coronavirus restrictions came into place, their plans were thrown into doubt.

In the end, the couple had a small service at the The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, following government guidelines and with the Queen and Prince Philip in attendance.

Read more: Harry and Meghan's wedding anniversary: 11 of the best moments from their big day

The Queen went from the wedding to knight Captain Sir Tom Moore that afternoon.

Beatrice and Mozzi were both in attendance at the funeral of Prince Philip, her grandfather, on 17 April.

They do not carry out royal duties on behalf of the Queen, but Beatrice does have a number of charity patronages.

Beatrice works as the vice president of partnerships and strategy at Afiniti and goes by Beatrice York at work.

Watch: Stepmother Princess Beatrice reads children's book The Littlest Yak