Princess Beatrice Celebrates Her Engagement Party in London — but Dad Prince Andrew Did Not Attend
Princess Beatrice and her fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi celebrated their engagement with a glam party in London on Wednesday night. While guests included several celebrity pals, the bride-to-be’s mother Sarah Ferguson and sister Princess Eugenie, Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew was absent from the event.
Andrew likely skipped the party, which was thrown by Mozzi’s mother at Chiltern Firehouse, due to the ongoing controversy surrounding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The royal did, however, attend the Queen’s annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace earlier that afternoon. His daughters were also in attendance.
Beatrice’s good friend Ellie Goulding and James Blunt were some of the guests at the A-list bash. Kate Middleton’s siblings were also in attendance. Pippa Middleton arrived with husband James Matthews, while James Middleton came with his fiancée Alizee Thevenet.
Beatrice and Mozzi announced their engagement and plans to wed in 2020 in September after the multi-millionaire property tycoon proposed during a trip to Italy earlier in the month. The nuptials are expected to take place in early summer, with an announcement on the date to come in January after the general election in the U.K.
“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 be married,” they said in a statement after their engagement was announced.
“We share so many similar interests and values and we know that this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.”
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Beatrice’s parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, who divorced in 1996, also released a joint statement following the announcement.
“We are thrilled that Beatrice and Edoardo have got engaged, having watched their relationship develop with pride. We are the lucky parents of a wonderful daughter who has found her love and companion in a completely devoted friend and a loyal young man. We send them every good wish for a wonderful family future,” they said.
In the months following Beatrice’s happy news, her dad has made headlines for his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Last month, he announced that he is he is “stepping back from public duties.”
The fallout from his disastrous BBC interview about his friendship with Epstein saw his official royal role collapse to almost nothing in a matter of days. He was removed from his hundreds of charitable patronages and his office was forced out of Buckingham Palace.
