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Prince Andrew’s scandal has left such an “ugliness” around his daughter Princess Beatrice’s upcoming wedding that the bride-to-be wishes she could “take off to Italy and do something private,” one royal expert is claiming.
Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter told Australian website 9Honey on Wednesday that there has been “a lot of talks” about how the 31-year-old princess would have loved to travel abroad for a “low-key” wedding where there would be “a lot less scrutiny.”
Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, both 60, is set to marry Italian property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 36, in May of this year at the Chapel Royal in St. James’ Palace.
“I feel for [Princess Beatrice] a little bit because there is so much ugliness surrounding Prince Andrew at the moment and so by extension that does trickle down to his daughters,” Arbiter explained.
Arbiter also shared that a more low-key affair would have benefitted Beatrice more for her special day.
ROYAL FAMILY POSTS PRINCE ANDREW BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE, SENDS FANS IN UPROAR FOR 'TONE DEAF' MOVE
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, with his daughter Princess Beatrice. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
“As Beatrice is planning her wedding, there’s been a lot of talk about how she’d love to just take off to Italy and do something private there where, perhaps, there would be a lot less scrutiny,” said Arbiter.
Despite the ongoing scandal concerning her father, Arbiter said she couldn’t imagine Beatrice having her nuptials aborad.
“Beatrice, like her sister Eugenie, is incredibly close to both the queen and Prince Philip and I simply don’t think she’d want to get married without her grandparents there and they are not going to be traveling to Italy for anything," she said.
According to the outlet, Queen Elizabeth II has offered her granddaughter the guards of Buckingham Palace as the venue for the wedding reception. It will also be the first royal wedding to be held at the palace since Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 nuptials.
St. James’ Palace is also the same location where Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840.
This undated photo released by Buckingham Palace shows Britain's Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, in Italy. Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson announced on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2019, the engagement of their elder daughter, Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. (Photo courtesy of Princess Eugenie/Buckingham Palace via AP)
Arbiter said there were talks about Beatrice following in her sister Princess Eugenie’s footsteps by marrying at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
“Beatrice grew up in Windsor, it’s very personal to her, but having said that, there was a whole spate of royal weddings there in quick succession, not just Eugenie, but Lady Gabriella and Meghan [Markle] of course,” said Arbiter.
“No bride wants to be compared to the bride that has gone before,” she continued. “So I think with Beatrice, we’re going to see something smaller. We probably won’t see a carriage procession because there’ll be another big brouhaha over security and I think she’s going to be keen to keep the negative press at bay.
“And Eugenie tends to be the more gregarious one. They’re both lovely girls but Eugenie has all the famous friends — Beatrice has some as well — but Eugenie is the extrovert, she’s the one that’s out and about a bit more. I think Beatrice is going to want something a little bit more low-key and a bit more personal.”
Beatrice’s father is Queen Elizabeth II’s third child and second son. The Duke of York is eighth in the line of succession to the British throne. In November 2019, Andrew announced he asked his mother, 93, if he can “step back” from his public duties following a disastrous interview with the BBC about his relationship with the financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew (right) is dealing with backlash from critics and media personalities over an interview about his relationship with now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the numerous sexual assault allegations against the British royal. (Getty)
PRINCE ANDREW HAS ‘PROVIDED ZERO COOPERATION’ IN JEFFREY EPSTEIN PROBE, AUTHORITIES SAY
In January, authorities announced Andrew has refused to cooperate with federal investigators as they continue their probe into Epstein.
According to the New York Post, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman told reporters at a news conference outside Epstein’s former Upper East Side residence that federal prosecutors reached out to Andrew and have been struggling to get the prince to agree to sit down with them.
Berman told the press outside the mansion: “The Southern District of New York and the FBI have contacted Prince Andrew’s attorneys and requested to interview Prince Andrew, and to date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation.”
Andrew is accused of having sex with at least one of the women Epstein allegedly trafficked.
Berman said he elected to share Andrew’s reluctance to cooperate simply because the prince “publicly offered, indeed in a press release, to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files released last week shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
A royal insider told the Post in an email: “This issue is being dealt with by The Duke of York’s legal team. Buckingham Palace will not be commenting further on this particular matter.”
Andrew has vehemently denied any claims of wrongdoing at the hands of his relationship with Epstein.
Epstein, 66, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City in August. Despite the fact the financier died behind bars awaiting trial for sex trafficking, the top prosecutor said the feds’ investigation into his sex abuse network will continue because “Jeffrey Epstein couldn’t have done what he did without the assistance of others.”
“And I can assure you that the investigation is moving forward,” Berman added.
Fox News’ Julius Young contributed to this report.
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