Princess Beatrice gets married in secret Windsor wedding with Queen and Prince Philip as guests

Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in Windsor on Friday morning, with around 20 guests including the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of York.

The couple had been compelled to postpone their large planned ceremony due to the coronavirus crisis, but went ahead with an intimate ceremony behind closed doors.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were photographed being driven on the Long Walk to the wedding on Friday morning, the Sun newspaper reported, before the ceremony in All Saints Chapel, Windsor Great Park.

Princess Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi were due to marry at the Chapel Royal, at St James's Palace, in London, in May, with 150 guests and a larger reception planned.

Instead, they invited just close friends and family for a private wedding.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "The private wedding ceremony of Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi took place at 11am on Friday 17th July at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor.

"The small ceremony was attended by The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and close family. The wedding took place in accordance with all relevant Government Guidelines."

It is believed to be the first time the Duke of York has been with the Queen and Prince Philip since the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell and revival of the Epstein scandal.

Later on Friday, the Queen appeared in public for a special outdoor ceremony to knight Captain Tom Moore at Windsor Castle.

A source told the Sun: "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 Balmoral so this was a great opportunity."

Princess Beatrice has been engaged to Mr Mapelli-Mozzi since September 2018, and has had to push back the date of her wedding several times.

As weddings were cancelled under the Covid-19 crisis, Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple were "particularly conscious of government advice in relation to both the wellbeing of older family members and large gatherings of people. Therefore, the planned reception in the Buckingham Palace Gardens will not take place.

"The couple will carefully consider government advice before deciding whether a private marriage might take place amongst a small group of family and friends."

The wedding ceremony was held at the chapel regularly used by the Queen as her place of worship when she is staying at Windsor.

Princess Beatrice, who is ninth in line to the throne, is not a full-time working royal but works for Afiniti, an artificial intelligence software firm, where she is vice president of partnerships and strategy.

Mr Mapelli Mozzi is the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and Nikki Williams-Ellis and is a count himself.

The princess will become a stepmother as he has a young son named Wolfie with ex-fiancee Dara Huang.

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