CULTURE

The Royals Have Finally Canceled Princess Beatrice’s Wedding

The announcement of their May wedding date came more than a month after reports of the coronavirus outbreak surfaced.

April 16, 2020

In the wake of Megxit, Princess Beatrice’s then upcoming wedding came to symbolize the royal family’s future. But over the past few weeks, it’s become a symbol of something quite different: the monarchy’s response to the coronavirus. Beatrice and her fiancé, property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, had been to wed on May 29th. While at first holding out hope some sort of nuptials could proceed, they’ve now canceled their wedding reception.

Midway through March, Buckingham Palace assured that the couple was “particularly conscious of government advice” regarding large gatherings and the wellbeing of people over 70—a high-risk category that includes Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, and Queen Elizabeth II. Even then, there was an acknowledgement that the wedding date seemed ambitious at best: “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 statement continued.

That was three weeks ago, but it might as well have been a lifetime. (Long enough, anyway, for both Prince Charles and Prime Minister Boris Johnson to test positive and recover from Covid-19.) So, once again, the couple bowed to reality: As of Thursday, they have officially canceled their nuptials. “There are no plans to switch venues or hold a bigger wedding,” their spokesperson told People. “They aren’t even thinking about their wedding at this time. There will come a time to rearrange, but that’s not yet.”

The news can’t come as a surprise to the rest of the royals, who’ve been keeping remarkably busy. In the hours before Beatrice’s announcement, Prince William has opened a hospital, and the media learned that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been quietly delivering meals in Los Angeles. (Princess Sophia also made headlines for undergoing hospital training.)

As for Beatrice and Mozzi’s planned 150 wedding guests, well, it seems they never got a chance for disappointment. Out of concern over the coronavirus, a source told People, “the invitations were never actually sent.”