A leading British journalist believed there's a reason Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi decided to have a secret wedding, and it's all about Prince Andrew. The private ceremony seemed to solve the hullabaloo surrounding the Duke of York's public profile as he was once again put under the spotlight after Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest.
In Christopher Wilson's piece for Mail on Sunday, he claimed Prince Andrew's "fall from grace" left his daughter in a "no man's land." They knew that to have a full-blown wedding, like Princess Eugenie's, would be a PR disaster, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic putting a damper on any social gatherings.
The knighting of Captain Tom Moore immediately followed the intimate wedding. Wilson claimed it was a "choreographed incidence of events" to focus everyone's attention on the former British Army officer's achievement, letting Princess Beatrice hold her wedding without controversy.
According to Town & Country, the issues surrounding Prince Andrew's relationship with the criminal sex offender Jeffrey Epstein affected the plans surrounding Princess Beatrice's nuptials. His disastrous BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis reportedly continues to damage the Royal Family's reputation.
It caused a public uproar as he failed to "draw a line under the mounting controversy" thrown against him due to his friendship with the disgraced financier. Amid all the allegations and the questions about whether he would cooperate with the U.S. investigators, the Duke of York attended his eldest daughter's wedding.
The U.S. authorities wanted the 60-year-old royal to give evidence and be a witness for the investigations of Epstein and the latter's alleged madam, Maxwell. The 58-year-old socialite is now in custody for charges that include helping to groom girls as young as 14 for the late convicted sex offender, which she vehemently denied.
After the intense backlash the interview received, Prince Andrew stepped back from his royal duties. It was a smooth exit from public life, but his every possible public appearance has the possibility to cause a huge controversy.
Even his appearance in his own daughter's wedding pictures would have caused a stir. Hence, he couldn't be seen in Princess Beatrice and Mozzi's official wedding snaps that Buckingham Palace released.
T&C noted that it only means that Prince Andrew is no longer a public face for the British monarchy – the complete opposite situation from two years ago, when he walked his younger daughter, Princess Eugenie, down the aisle when she tied the knot with Jack Brooksbank.
