British broadcaster BBC confirmed, on Saturday, that it will not be airing a live coverage of Princess Beatrice's wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Similarly, ITV also announced it will not do a live screening of the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's eldest daughter.
According to reports, BBC revealed that Princess Beatrice's wedding will be covered in its news programs. The event, however, will not be replacing normal broadcast similar to Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton or Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle.
BBC also didn't do live coverage of the wedding of Princess Eugenie, the sister of Princess Beatrice, to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. ITV pursued the live coverage in its morning programming, which raked in three million viewers.
Initially, ITV refused to say if it will also cover Princess Beatrice's wedding since it's a matter that will be discussed this week when its staff returns to work following the holidays. Days after BBC's confirmation, a spokesperson for ITV also confirmed with Daily Mail that it "definitely won't" be doing a live broadcast of Princess Beatrice and Mozzi's wedding this time.
The broadcaster did not say the reason for dropping the live coverage but a friend of the family said that there was no plan to do a live broadcast from the York's side anyway especially amid Prince Andrew's controversy. Royal expert Phil Dampier said, in an interview with Mirror, that Prince Andrew is "toxic" to the royal family. Thus, it's not surprising for the family to opt for a private wedding and a release of photos after the event.
Buckingham Palace has yet to announce the actual wedding date and location. Speculations are rife that Princess Beatrice and Mozzi will exchange I do's sometime in May or June before Queen Elizabeth's annual Royal Ascot event.
The couple might also likely be married at St. George's Chapel in Windsor. However, there have also been speculations that Princess Beatrice and Mozzi might consider a destination wedding in the groom's hometown of Italy.
The news comes as another royal expert, Jennie Bond, stated that the Yorks should rethink its plans for the upcoming wedding. This royal family was, reportedly, originally keen on following Princess Eugenie's wedding arrangements, which received much public criticism for the security cost shouldered by taxpayer's money. A spokesperson from the palace, however, said that Princess Beatrice's wedding will be paid privately.
Princess Beatrice and Mozzi announced their engagement in September 2019. The couple had their engagement party in London the week before Christmas with Prince Andrew inconspicuously missing from the event.
