Princess Beatrice Faces Difficult Upcoming Birthday, Royal Author Claims

Princess Beatrice is approaching a birthday that royal author Andrew Lownie believes will be “not an easy one”, as speculation over alleged tensions in her marriage collides with the continuing fallout from her parents’ links to Jeffrey Epstein. Beatrice, the daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, turns 38 on August 8 and is expected to mark the occasion in a far quieter fashion than in years past. Recent claims about Andrew’s friendship with Epstein are said to have created “distance” between Beatrice and her husband, Edo Mapelli Mozzi, while renewed scrutiny of the York family has also prompted questions about the princess’s finances. “Much has changed for the York family since Beatrice’s last birthday,” Mr Lownie, author of the bestselling book Entitled: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York, told the Daily Mail. “Her father remains under, in effect, house arrest in Norfolk with the possibility of being charged with sharing confidential information, her mother probably still in hiding abroad.”

Mr Lownie pointed to “the publication of my book Entitled and Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl, the release of damning material about the family from Jeffrey Epstein’s papers, the de-princing of her father and his eviction from Royal Lodge and questions raised over the daughters’ subsidised accommodation at St James’s Palace and Kensington Palace though not working royals.” He suggested that, unlike previous birthdays marked by lavish parties and expensive presents, Beatrice is likely to keep this year’s celebrations deliberately restrained. Alongside reports about the state of her six-year marriage, he said uncertainty also remains over “how far the Princess may still be using her royal status to promote her career”.

The contrast with some of Beatrice’s earlier celebrations could hardly be sharper. Her 18th birthday became one of the most talked-about royal parties of the decade, complete with a £10,000 dress flown in from New York, 500 guests dancing until 3am in the historic grounds of Windsor Castle and an estimated overall cost of £400,000. Funded by the late Queen Elizabeth II, the elaborate Victorian-themed coming-of-age party was remembered for its scale and extravagance. “The Victorian theme was chosen because Beatrice was born at 8.18pm on August 8, 1988.”

“Guests included Harvey Weinstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein,” Mr Lownie added. In Beatrice’s childhood, birthdays were often marked with public attention and charitable associations. A Hello! magazine feature for her second birthday, for example, raised an extraordinary £2million. “The following year, there was a three-hour fancy dress party,” Mr Lownie noted, while “her 28th was spent with friends in the Hamptons”. Last year, Edo posted a warm birthday tribute to his “BEAUTIFUL” wife on social media, signing off on behalf of himself, his ten-year-old stepson Wolfie, and the couple’s daughters Sienna, four, and Athena, one. “You are the greatest. We love you so much. E,W,S,A xxxx,” he wrote.

At that time, Mr Lownie observed, “There were similar praises from other well wishers arguing she was one of the most popular members of the Royal Family.” Now, however, Princess Beatrice’s position appears far less settled. Mr Lownie said questions over “the state of her title, her marriage and her business activities” may yet be resolved by the time she celebrates her next birthday. Beatrice married property developer Edo, 42, on July 17, 2020, in a hastily arranged ceremony at the Chapel of All Saints on the Windsor estate, after the Covid pandemic forced the couple to abandon plans for a larger wedding.

The ceremony was inevitably overshadowed by the scandal surrounding Beatrice’s father, Andrew, who had stepped back from public life in November 2019 following the Epstein controversy. Six years on, further revelations about Andrew’s association with Epstein are said to have contributed to a “distance” between Edo and Beatrice in recent months. In March, Edo, who is descended from Italian nobility, travelled to Florida to promote his luxury interior design studio Banda Property, rather than stay with Beatrice during the fallout from the release of the Epstein Files. Against the backdrop of his polished Instagram posts, including sunlit boardwalks and private yachts, sources told the Daily Mail that the couple’s relationship had not been “great for a while”. On the same day Andrew was held in police custody, Edo was seen in Palm Beach, Florida. His US trip took him to the same area where Ferguson and the princesses had dined with Epstein just days after the end of his prison sentence for trafficking a minor for prostitution. Although Edo’s visit was work-related, his decision to travel to America instead of remaining at his wife’s side fuelled speculation about the state of their marriage.

One source told the Daily Mail: “Things haven’t been great for a while between them, but Beatrice has been determined to soldier on and forge a path through. Beatrice is quite different from her sister. She really wants to almost naively see the good in people and will turn a blind eye to uncomfortable truths – that is why she was blind to her father’s behaviour, and the same is true of her belief in Edo. She wants to stay together, but he seems more and more distracted by work and travel. Just when she needs him most, he’s been pulling away.” Body language analyst Judi James also suggested that Edo’s posture may have shown uncertainty over “how to play it with a more casual look”. She said his appearance hinted at a struggle to accept that the couple were not having the kind of royal wedding he may once have imagined. Because of coronavirus restrictions, Beatrice and Edo had to abandon their original plans and married in front of just 20 guests, including Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. The ceremony was notably understated compared with Princess Eugenie’s lavish 2018 wedding, which included a carriage procession through Windsor and reportedly involved around £2million in public expenses. Although Andrew walked Beatrice down the aisle, he was notably absent from the official wedding photographs released by Buckingham Palace.

“In body language terms it has always been Edo looking like the dashing, dapper royal prince while Beatrice looks like his gauche and more diffident wife,” Ms James added. “In social confidence terms it often looked as though it was her feeding off him. Edo did celebrity profile very well and he also excelled at a more ‘A-list casual’ look. Beatrice became the tow-along bride-to-be.” Yet the couple’s early married life has been anything but simple, with the continuing scandal over Andrew’s ties to Epstein placing fresh attention on Beatrice. The fallout led to King Charles formally stripping Andrew of all his titles and forcing him out of Royal Lodge, while the King’s younger brother was arrested on his 66th birthday by Thames Valley Police in a dramatic moment for the monarchy. According to Ms James, the scandals surrounding Beatrice and her family have seen “Edo’s signals of regal confidence increase while Beatrice’s have often suggested a wariness and desire to stay out of the spotlight”. She added: “Edo tends to gravitate towards the highest-ranking royals with an easy, regal-looking confidence but Beatrice has often signalled a desire to hang back. His behavioural ‘fit’ seems to be in the royal hub while Beatrice has often looked increasingly uncomfortable.”