Two Princesses to make their debuts

April 16, 1910


Two Princess will soon make their debuts on the royal scene, reports the Los Angeles Times.   Princess Victoria Luise of Germany, the youngest child and only daughter of the German Emperor and Empress, has "already been chronicled that her coming out in society is being delayed" because her parents want to "keep their 'baby' to themselves for as long as possible."

The German public has, however, noticed that the Princess now takes walk and "rides in the park with her father or mother, instead of with a governess."  She usually rides or walks with her mother, Empress Auguste Viktoria, who "has taken to riding again to accompany her daughter.

Princess Viktoria Luise is 17 years old.  She will celebrate her 18th birthday on September 13.  Last fall, the Princess was confirmed in the Lutheran church. Days before the Confirmation,  the Princess received her first colonelcy, as Colonel of the Second Hussars on October 22, 1909.

"She will ride at the head of the first regiment that invades England,"  the Kaiser told Viktoria Luise's British governess Anne Topham.

The Princess' confirmation also signaled the formal ending of her education.  Baron von Mirbach, one of the Empress' gentlemen-in-waiting, said: "Confirmation!  What does confirmation mean?  For the boys it means permission to smoke cigarettes; for the girls, freedom to go to balls and parties.  That's what confirmation means in Germany."     Anne Topham returned to England shortly before Christmas. 

Leaving the schoolroom also means that the Princess is approaching the age when her parents will begin to consider arranging her marriage with an eligible royal.


https://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2020/04/anne-topham-governess-to-princess.html

All three images: Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection

The other young princess is Princess Maud, a granddaughter of  King Edward VII and the younger daughter of the Duke of Fife and the Princess Royal. She celebrated her 17th birthday on April 3.  It is being suggested that the Princess will be presented at court this season.   But as a princess, she will not be "formally presented", but will sit with other members of the Royal Family and sit behind the King and Queen "while the court is in progress.

Princess Maud will also most likely attend a dance in her honor, which may be hosted by a friend of the Royal Family.  The women most likely who may have the distinction of hosting Maud's dance are Lady Farquhar, Lady Londonderry and the Duchess of Westminster.


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a new addition to my collection

Lovely new addition to my postcard collection  HRH Princess Heinrich of Prussia, born Princess Irene of Hesse and By Rhine.

HGDH Princes Irene Luise Marie Anne of Hesse and by Rhine was born at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt on July 11, 1866, the third child of HRH Grand Duke Ludwig IV and HRH Princess Alice of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, third child of Queen Victoria.

She married her first cousin, HRH Prince Heinrich of Prussia on May 24, 1888 at the chapel at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin.    Heinrich, known as Henry within the family, was the second son and third child of HM Friedrich III, King of Prussia and German Emperor and his wife,  HRH Princess Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland, the eldest of  Queen Victoria's nine children.  Alice and Victoria were sisters.

The couple had three sons :  Prince Waldemar Wilhelm Ludwig Friedrich Viktor Heinrich of Prussia (1889-1945), Prince Wilhelm Viktor Karl August Heinrich Sigismund of Prussia (1896-1978) and Prince Heinrich Viktor Ludwig Friedrich of Prussia (1900-1904). 

The eldest and youngest sons suffered from hemophilia.

Prince Heinrich was born at Berlin on August 14, 1862,http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2019/04/prince-heinrich-of-prussia-1862-1929.html and died at Schloss Hemmelmark on April 24, 1929.   Princess Irene died at Hemmelmark on November 11, 1953.  She was 87 years old when she died. 

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2012/05/princess-irene-leaves-home-for-her.html

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2011/02/prince-and-princess-henry-about-to.html

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2012/11/princess-henry-starts-her-journey-to.html

Exclusive: an interview with Crown Prince Alexander

HRH Crown Prince Alexander and I have been friends for many years.  We first met in the mid-1980s when he was working as an insurance executive in Rosslyn, Virginia.  I took the train down from my home in New Jersey to interview the Prince for my book, Queen Victoria's Descendants.   He sent me an email to see how I was doing here at home  .. I responded and then asked if he would agree to an interview.  He did.  He also provided several photographs.

Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katharine are living at the Royal Palace, which is located in the Royal Compound in Dedinje, one of Belgrade's leafy neighborhoods

Marlene:  "How is Serbia doing with COVID-19.  Has there been a major outbreak in the country or is social distancing?  How has the Serbian government responded to the pandemic?"

Crown Prince Alexander:  "Our government in Serbia led by President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has taken the pandemic very seriously and I praise them for the strict steps that they have implemented in a timely manner. They address the nation virtually every evening on TV explaining the situation and implement and review resolutions. They have done well with the strict regulations they have enforced in the prevention of the spread of the virus. With the help of Chinese advisors, our government has implemented some of the toughest restrictions in Europe."

Marlene:   The Serbian government is requiring people 65 and older to stay in their residences.  Where are you living at present:  the Royal Palace or Beli Dvor (the White Palace.)  [Both residences are located in the Royal Compound.]  Do you have staff on-site?

Crown Prince Alexander:  "People returning from abroad and those aged over 65 have been ordered to self-isolate at home. Violations are punishable by up to three years imprisonment. Citizens have been ordered to stay at home from 5 pm to 5am during the week and on weekends from Friday 5 pm to Monday at 5 am. If they don’t obey, the curfew will be extended. Borders are closed and Belgrade airport is closed except for rescue and medical aircraft.

"We are in the Royal Palace and no staff is living on the site. We fully closed the White Palace and our office too. We have conference calls every day with the staff.  Yes, we take walks in the compound admiring spring blossom and enjoying the good weather, we walk twice a day. The Royal Compound is strictly closed and protected by our Ministry of the Interior security police. Food and supplies are delivered twice a week. Restaurants and shops are closed. We are very cautious with cleaning and disinfection."

with Nessy, the dog

Marlene:  "What are you doing to keep busy?   What is a typical day for you and the Crown Princess right now? "

Crown Prince Alexander:  "We continue with our humanitarian work especially my wife with her foundation ( www.lifelineaid.org)and assists the Government and Ministry of Health. My wife organized the delivery of donation laptops and printers to the Clinical Center and medical equipment that were desperately needed. The Clinical Center in Belgrade is the center dealing with Corona.

" My wife’s foundation has offices in New York www.lifelineaid.org www.lifelineaid.org Chicago www.lifelinechicago.org.  Both are  501(c)(3) charities. Toronto https://lifeline-canada.org, London https://lifelineuk.co.uk/news/, and Athens https://www.lifelinegr.org/


"We are using this opportunity to go over our computer files, paperwork and organize ourselves. Plan ahead and we look forward to opening the Royal Compound when this ends for tourists. All tours and events are on hold until further notice. We are very concerned about the economy and jobs. A lot of work will have to be done to kick start the economy when this awful tragedy is over.

"Our children and grandchildren are also strictly following the Corona restrictions in the United Kingdom and the United States. They use the internet like we do to keep up with work.

all photos @Crown Prince Alexander.

"We read books, listen to music and watch the news. A book I recommend “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order” by Samuel Huntington available on Amazon. We also watch films and TV series in the evening on Netflix, Apple, and Amazon.

"We communicate with the family and friends we use What’s App and Vonage. We have also been in touch with our relatives.

"Our Orthodox Easter is Sunday, April 19 and we follow the social restrictions. We send out electronic wishes for Pesach, Easter, and Ramadan.

"We are particularly concerned about the post-economic revival, a lot of work and planning must be done.

"Joined by my wife I would like to take this opportunity to appeal that everyone must take great care and follow their government instructions. We send everyone our warmest wishes."

Marlene:  "What is the first thing you want to do when quarantine ends?

Crown Prince Alexander: “To take account of everything and start mending the damage done by Covid -19. Learn from it”.

I would like to thank the Crown Prince for taking the time to answer my questions.   I have had the honor of several invitations to the Royal Palace, and I enjoyed every visit.

https://royalfamily.org/the-royal-palace/

If you visit Belgrade -- and you should -- I recommend a tour of the palace, which has its own intimate movie room. after it reopens.  Well worth it.



 

are royals boycotting Margaret's wedding?

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 April 11, 1960

Several British newspapers have decided that members of Europe's royal families are 'boycotting' Princess Margaret's wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones, which will take place at Westminster Abbey on May 6, according to a Reuters report.

Press reports are insinuating that the regrets are being sent in response to the wedding invitation because Armstrong-Jones is a commoner.   A palace official in Oslo says the report is "absolutely silly," while the Swedish press has been "quick to fight back in print."

It appears that most of Europe's reigning royal families "have found something else to do" when Margaret marries Armstrong-Jones.

King Gustav VI Adolf and his wife, Queen Louise, who is the Duke of Edinburgh's aunt, will be "entertaining" the Shah and Empress of Iran on May 5 and 6.  A court spokesman said it was unlikely that any of the King's four granddaughters would be able to attend the wedding during the Shah's visit.

King Olav V of Norway and his daughter, Princess Astrid, will be attending the "200th-anniversary celebrations of the Norwegian Society of Science.  Crown Prince Harald is away on military maneuvers.

King Baudouin of the Belgians has a "long-standing engagement" in Antwerp on May 6.

The New York Daily News is reporting that Queen Juliana, Prince Bernhard, and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands have declined their invitations.

Queen Ingrid of Denmark will be attending the wedding, but her husband, King Frederik IX will not.    The Greek royals remain on the "undecided" list.  It is not known yet if the Prince and Princess of Monaco will be attending.

King Olav's Lord Chamberlain, Ingvald Smith-Kielland said the 'boycott' rumors were "especially silly" as the King's elder daughter, Princess Ragnhild, is married to a commoner, shipping director, Erling Lorentzen.  They live in Rio de Janeiro.

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One newspaper, the Daily Herald, states that being a commoner is only one reason.  Another reason was the concern in European royal houses over a "stream of lurid so-called biographies of Armstrong-Jones and his friends, Jeremy Fry and David Hicks, which have been published in the Continental press.

Frye was set to be Armstrong-Jones' best man, but stepped down last week due to "ill-health".    David Hicks, an interior designer, married Lady Pamela Mountbatten, in January.  Lady Pamela is a first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Another London newspaper, the Star, said the boycott comments were "ill-timed" as Margaret's wedding was "very much a British family affair.  It takes a lot of stupidity to turn it into an international incident."

The Queen's speech

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Queen Elizabeth II spoke to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

This is only the 5th time that the Queen has addressed the nation. 

“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. 

A time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.

I want to thank everyone on the NHS front line, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles, who selflessly continue their day-to-day duties outside the home in support of us all.

I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones.

“Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it.

"I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.

"And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.

"That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country.

"The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future.

The moments when the United Kingdom has come together to applaud its care and essential workers will be remembered as an expression of our national spirit; and its symbol will be the rainbows drawn by children.

Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warming stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting businesses to help the relief effort.

And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation.

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It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety.

Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones.

"But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do. While we have faced challenges before, this one is different.

This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.

We will succeed - and that success will belong to every one of us.

We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.

But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all."

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Princess Eugenie's in-laws have Covid-19

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George Brooksbank, who is Princess Eugenie's father-in-law, is in intensive care in a hospital as he has been diagnosed with Coronavirus.  Brooksbank, 71, is in "serious but stable" condition, according to the Daily Mail.

Brooksbank's wife, Nicola, 66, also has the virus.  She is recuperating at their home in Wandsworth, London.

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Princess Eugenie, the younger daughter of the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, married Jack Brooksbank on October 12, 2018, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

mail.co.uk/news/article-8185997/Princess-Eugenies-father-law-George-Brooksbank-taken-intensive-care-coronavir

HSH Prince Nicolaus zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg (1925-2020)

@Nikolaus zu Bentheim

HSH Prince Nicolaus Moritz Casimir zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg died on March 26 at his home in Herzebrock-Clarholz. He was 95 years old.

Prince Nicolaus was the second child of HSH Adolf Moritz Casimir Karl Adalbert Hugo Arthur, 5th Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg, and HSH Princess Amélie of Schönburg-Waldenburg.   He was born at Rheda on March 12, 1925.   He married Countess Franziska von Hoyos, Baroness von  Stichtenstein (1921-2009) on September 15, 1951 at Werenwag bei Hausen.   The marriage was childless.

He served in the German military and was taken prisoner by the Allies.  After his release, he studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy for two years, graduating in 1947.   His first job was as an assistant designer for the State Opera in Munich.

After a trip to Italy in 1949,  he returned to Germany to attend the Cologne School of Art.  He and his wife lived in Rome for more than 30 years where he painted and also worked as a graphic and trade fair designer.

http://www.spechtart.de/reiner_kuhn_7_zu_bentheim.html

https://www.kunstverein-gt.de/rueckblick-2/2009-nicolaus-zu-bentheim/

The prince, who used the name Nicolaus zu Bentheim, was known for his surrealist paintings.

Prince Nicolaus is survived by his younger sister, Princess Gustava, Countess von Hothenthal and Prince Heinrich, and numerous nieces and nephews, including HSH Moritz, 7th Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg.

http://fuerstenhaus-bentheim.de/nicolaus-prinz-zu-bentheim-tecklenburg/?utm_content=buffer7781c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Trooping the Colour 2020 - won't be traditional

@Marlene A Eilers Koenig

“In line with Government advice, it has been agreed that The Queen’s Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead in its traditional form.”

Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1933-2020)

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HRH Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma died today at the Hôpital Cochin Paris. She was 86 years old.   The cause of death was COVID-19. The announcement was made by her younger brother, HRH Prince Sixte Enrico of Bourbon-Parma.  The princess had become ill eight days earlier and was admitted to the hospital yesterday.  She was in excellent health only ten days earlier and had been caring for her two sisters with the help of a nurse.   Princess Maria Teresa remained in the apartment in quarantine for a week before being transferred to the hospital.  She was infected by the nurse who cared for her sisters.

Princess Maria Teresa (Marie Thérèse Cécile Zita Charlotte) was born on July 28, 1933, at Paris, the third of six children of HRH Prince Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset.

The princess never married.  She is survived by four of her siblings:  HRH Princess Francoise (Princess Edouard Lobkowicz), TRH Princess Cecilie, Princess Marie des Neiges, and Prince Sixte Enrique of  Bourbon-Parma, and six nieces and nephews,  Prince Carlos Xavier, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, HRH Prince Jaime of Bourbon-Parma, HRH Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma, HRH Princess Maria-Carolina of Bourbon-Parma (the children of the late HRH Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza) and HRH Princess Irene of the Netherlands) and HSH Prince Charles-Henri Lobkowicz and HSH Princess Marie Gabrielle Lobkowicz, a nun with Little Sisters of the Poor in the United States.)

TRH Prince Sixte Enrico and Princess Maria Teresa,  courtesy of HRH Prince Sixte Enrico

The Princess lived in Madrid since she was 28 years old.  She was a passionate supporter of Carlism and was nicknamed the Red Princess because she espoused leftist causes.  Empress Zita of Austria (nee Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma) was her aunt and her godmother.

In 2014, she spoke with the French newspaper, Liberation. The Princess said her father never reigned in Spain, but "fought all of his life to put his dynasty back in the throne."  She shared with her late brother, Carlos Hugo and his wife, Princess Irene, in the "oppression of financial capitalism,"  and became an "effervescent activist of this leftist Carlism, which dreamed of an oxymoronic socialist monarchy."

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Princess Maria Teresa said: "For us, the socialist idea was not the class struggle but the permanent search for consensus."

Her passion for Carlism never came to fruition.  In the late 1970s, she pursued a decorate in Hispanic Studies at the Sorbonne, and then a doctorate in Sociology in Madrid.  One of her dissertation subjects was "Religious overdetermination in the political field in Ireland" and the only royal highness to subscribe to Liberation, a left-wing French newspaper.

She lived alone.  According to her sister, Cecile,  Marie Teresa enjoyed her independence.  No affairs.   Cecile responded: "She has a very high requirement. If an opportunity had arisen, she would have seized it. But nothing in line with her aspirations has distracted her from her independence cult. ”

https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2014/07/23/maria-teresa-de-bourbon-parme-princesse-rouge_1069044

In an interview with L'Eventail, also in 2014, to promote her book, Les Bourbon Parme, une famille engagée dans l'histoire,  the princess said of her support for Carlism.  "Through Carlism, I tried to evoke the problem of Spain and in the broader sense that of Europe. We have been very involved, my brother Charles-Hugues, my sisters Cécile and Marie-des-Neiges, in the rebirth of this movement which I hesitate to call "party" because it is a word that does not suit all-to -fact. If you call it that, it is very old because it dates back to 1833. Since its creation, it has consistently defended certain claims. The movement still exists as a party, but when my brother succeeded my father and was considered a legitimate king, we obviously had to leave him. Today, it is my nephew Charles-Xavier who embodies continuity. He also wrote a document when King Juan-Carlos abdicated, not a criticism but rather a proposal for a solution to the expectations of Spanish society."

https://www.eventail.be/component/k2/1594-marie-therese-de-bourbon-un-militantisme-royal#

Princess Maria Teresa wrote seven books, all on Carlism and her family. None have been translated into English.

The funeral will take place on Friday, March 27.  The official announcement was released by her nephew, the Duke of Parma and does not include her eldest sister, Francoise, and her children and her younger brother, Sixte Enrico.  This is due to several decades-long estrangement between the three princess and their late brother, Carlo Hugo, and Princess Francoise and Prince Sixte largely due to political issues.

 

Archduke Karl fully recovered from Covid-19

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From Archduke Karl:

"I have just received a notification that the quarantine has been lifted after a negative corona test. After being infected with the Covid 19 virus, I am officially healthy again after almost three weeks.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sent me wishes for recovery through various channels. Even if this removes the domestic quarantine for me, it is not a return to normal life for me either. The location makes it necessary to stay at home. This is the best way to curb the spread of the virus.

In all organizations in Austria in which I hold a management function, the events have been canceled for the next two months. Including the VI. Otto von Habsburg symposium, which should be devoted to the topic of "freedom".

Now we have to take responsibility in freedom, take care of ourselves and thus our fellow human beings and stay at home."

https://www.paneuropa.at/karl-von-habsburg-offiziell-von-corona-genesen/

Breaking News Prince of Wales tests positive

From Clarence House

From Clarence House

Breaking News Prince Albert of Monaco tests positive for COVID-19

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AP reporting that Prince Albert II of Monaco has tested positive for COVID-19.

The palace states that the 62-year-old sovereign is doing well and still working at his desk.

Three Brazilian Princes test positive for COVID-19

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Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza, Prince Imperial of Brazil, announced earlier today that three of his younger brothers,  Prince Antonio, 70,  Prince Francisco, 64,  and Prince Alberto, 62,  have all tested positive for COVID-19 and are all undergoing treatment, according to Pro Monarquia, the official organization for the Imperial house of Brazil.

" We are experiencing the outbreak of one of the biggest epidemics in our history. In Brazil, this epidemic is growing and tends to contaminate a very large number of Brazilian people. He even reached the Imperial family: my brother, Antonio, who follows me in the line of succession, my brothers Alberto and Francisco, have all been tested positive for the coronavirus," Dom Bertrand said in a statement. "Do not get obsessed with the coronavirus, on the contrary. With all prudence and tranquility. We have to act with prudence, know where to be, what to do, what are the remedies, when to see the doctor. Let us know how to trust, more than ever, in Divine Providence."

 Prince Antonio is in the hospital.  Prince Alberto's wife, Maritza, also as the virus.


The 79-year-old Prince Bertrand is the heir apparent to his older brother, 81-year-old Prince Luiz.  The elderly princes are the sons of the late Prince Pedro Henrique (1909-1981) and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria (1911-2011).  They married in 1937 and were the parents of thirteen children.

Prince Antonio is second in line to the Vassouras branch of the Imperial house.  He is married Princess Christine de Ligne, daughter of the late Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne and the late Princess Alix of Luxembourg, youngest daughter of the late Grand Duchess Charlotte.   (Christine's brother, Michel, the 14th Prince of Ligne, is married to Antonio's sister, Princess Eleonora.)

Prince Antonio and Princess Christina had four children:  Prince Pedro, who died in the Air France crash in June 2009,  Princess Amelia, Prince Rafael, and Princess Maria Gabriela.

Princes Francisco and Alberto renounced their rights to the throne when he made non-dynastic marriages.   Prince Francisco and his wife, Claudia Regina Godinho, are the parents of three daughters.   Prince Alberto is married to Maritza Ribas Bockel and they have two sons and two daughters.

Princess Beatrice cancels wedding reception

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The Telegraph is reporting that that Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi have canceled their Buckingham Palace wedding reception on May 29.  The garden reception was to have taken place after the private wedding at the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2020/03/18/princess-beatrice-forced-scale-back-wedding-coronavirus-fears/

“Princess Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi are very much looking forward getting married but are equally aware of the need to avoid undertaking any unnecessary risks in the current circumstances.

“In line with government advice for the UK and beyond, the couple are reviewing their arrangements for 29th May.

“They are particularly conscious of government advice in relation to both the wellbeing of older family members and large gatherings of people.

“Therefore, the planned reception in the Buckingham Palace Gardens will not take place.

“The couple will carefully consider government advice before deciding whether a private marriage might take place amongst a small group of family and friends.”