Princess Beatrice Can Marry Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Even If Queen Elizabeth Doesn't Approve

Princess Beatrice — Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s eldest daughter — has been in the headlines recently with reports saying that she might be getting serious with her boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Should the pair decide to tie the knot, Beatrice can cross off one thing from her pre-wedding checklist — getting the approval of Queen Elizabeth II.

It’s not saying that Her Majesty would object to such a union. Edoardo is Beatrice’s childhood friend and is close to the royal family, particularly the Yorks. In fact, Sarah Ferguson is the godmother of Edoardo’s younger brother, Alby.

But traditionally, Queen Elizabeth II has a lot of say on matters involving members of the royal family. For instance, every royal child’s name has to be approved by Her Majesty.

Princess Beatrice would have been named Annabel if Prince Andrew and Fergie’s first-name choice was followed. But the name was not to Her Majesty’s liking as she considered it too “yuppie.” So she suggested instead the name “Beatrice,” after Queen Victoria’s ninth and youngest child.

Members of the royal family also had to get the Queen’s consent to marry in accordance with the Royal Marriages Act. Thus, Prince William had to get his grandmother’s nod when he married Kate Middleton in 2011. Likewise, the monarch gave her formal consent when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018.

But unlike William and Harry, Beatrice no longer needs to ask for the approval of their grandmother should she decide to marry Edoardo. This is because there were changes made to the Royal Marriages Act back in 2013 that excluded her from the Queen’s sphere as far as selecting her husband is concerned.

These days, only the first six in line to the throne would require a monarch’s approval before they could get married. This means that Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince Harry will need to ask the permission of Queen Elizabeth II to marry or remarry.

The changes in the law also mean that being the 10th in line to the throne, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice’s younger sister, did not need to ask for her grandmother’s approval when she married Jack Brooksbank last year. But, obviously, Her Majesty gave her assent just the same because she attended the ceremony.