Princess Beatrice's fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, also known as Edo, was with the royal family during Christmas Day. Much to the surprise of royal fans, this was apparently another instance where Queen Elizabeth broke protocol to allow a non-member of the royal clan to join them during an important royal occasion.
A few years ago, Queen Elizabeth also extended this same privilege to Meghan Markle. After her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017, Meghan joined the royal family for their annual Christmas tradition in Sandringham. Like Edo, Meghan also walked to church and greeted the spectators waiting to see the royal family for Christmas Day.
In the past, British protocols apparently dictated that only spouses married to their royal partners are supposed to join the family's traditional engagements, per Daily Express. Thus, Kate didn't enjoy the same privilege as Meghan and Edo when she was engaged to Prince William nearly a decade ago.
Queen Elizabeth apparently bended this rule for Meghan in 2017 because the American TV star didn't have any family in London. Kate, on the other hand, had the Middleton clan to celebrate the holidays with, while Edo's family are reportedly based in Italy.
Royal expert Ingrid Seward, however, revealed in the documentary Sandringham: The Queen at Christmas, that Queen Elizabeth invited Kate to one of the many royal festivities before she was Prince William's wife. Seward said that, at that time, Kate was terrified that something might go wrong. Apparently, these holiday events with the royals can be difficult for an outsider.
Meanwhile, amid the wedding preparations and the controversy surrounding her father, Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice looked quite happy and confident as she greeted the crowd for Christmas Day. According to body language expert Blanca Cobb, it was evident that Princess Beatrice appeared to have such a connection with her future husband.
Cobb told Cosmopolitan that the similarity in Princess Beatrice and Edo's stride and posture shows that connection. Despite her father's scandal, Princess Beatrice is apparently in a good place. In fact, just days before Christmas, she and Edo celebrated their engagement with a massive party in London sans her dad.
According to reports, Prince Andrew decided against going to Princess Beatrice's engagement event because it would not look good for the royal family. The Duke of York has been embattled by his connections to the disgraced billionaire and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He was not also with the royal family when they did their Christmas walk in Sandringham.
