Even though many of us believe that Princess Beatrice’s engagement to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is partially a deflection from her father’s Jeffrey Epstein entanglements, we’re still kind of happy for Beatrice. I mean, many of us also believe that Edoardo is a little bit shady and that their relationship seems to have fudged some timelines, but still… we’re happy for Beatrice. Beatrice was with Dave Clark for a decade and then he dumped her, found someone else very quickly and then got married. Beatrice thought she and Dave would marry eventually and the vibe has always been that Beatrice didn’t really handle the split all that well, and that she was incredibly hurt that Dave moved on so quickly and so thoroughly. So Beatrice deserves some happiness. Which is what this People Mag story is about:
Beatrice’s friends are happy for her engagement: “It’s such happy news! All of her friends are delighted,” a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. The news is especially joyful following a difficult period for Beatrice, who went through a painful split from American Uber executive Dave Clark in 2016 after nearly a decade of dating. He then went on to wed advertising executive Lynn Anderson two years later.
Bea was devastated about Dave Clark: “She was so devastated by that, so it is really lovely to have this,” a friend says. Mozzi “is a great support to her. She just sounds so incredibly excited that she has found someone she’s thrilled about spending the rest of her life with.”
Her family was shocked when Dave cut out of there: Beatrice’s family, including sister Princess Eugenie and parents Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew, were reportedly “completely shocked” by Beatrice’s breakup with Clark at the time. Adds a source: “I think it was very hard for her when she split up with Dave, it was tough on her. And it must have been difficult as the eldest to watch her little sister go down the aisle.”
On Eugenie’s wedding: “Beatrice was very strong on that day and she was showing incredible love and unconditional support,” the friend adds. “[The sisters] are different but there is incredible closeness. They are very sweet together.”
I remember covering Eugenie’s wedding last year and feeling a little pang of sympathy for Beatrice, and how it must have sucked for her to be “the last singleton” of that generation of royals. Her cousins were all coupled up with their partners and her little sister was getting married, come on. I know it’s a lousy, sexist stereotype that the woman without a man is “sympathetic” or whatever, but really… that must have been hard for her. But she did really well that day and kept the focus on Eugenie. I really do hope that Beatrice is happy now and that my bad/weird vibes about Edoardo are misplaced. We’ll see.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
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