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Days after acclaimed royal author Andrew Lownie claimed that disgraced Sarah Ferguson had “never approved” of the marriage between her daughter, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, new details have come to light about the state of affairs.
Lownie – author of Entitled: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York – claimed both Edo and Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Beatrice’s sister Princess Eugenie, were encouraging their wives to “distance themselves” from their scandal-plagued parents.
“Both husbands’ families are appalled by the activities of the former Duke and Duchess of York,” Lownie told the Daily Mail, adding that a “complication” was that Fergie had “never approved of Edo, so no love lost there”.
Now, royal expert Phil Dampier tells Woman’s Day that “good sources” tell him that Beatrice and Edo’s relationship has come under “severe strain” amid the fallout from the furore surrounding the Yorks.
“With the former Prince Andrew now plain Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and being investigated by the police, and the Duchess of York now simply Sarah Ferguson, some friends of Beatrice believe Edo has lost interest in his ‘royal connections’,” Dampier claimed
“One told me : ‘It would be unfair to say Edo didn’t love Bea when they got married but a lot of people thought he was happy to use his kudos as being married to a royal to further his business interests’.”
Dampier went on to claim that Edo was “only too keen to play up his status when striking deals, particularly abroad where a touch of royal magic doesn’t go amiss”.
“But since Bea’s parents have been stripped of their powers he has not been keen to be seen with them. On the one hand you can understand it, but it seems a bit disloyal at a time of need when the family needs support,” he said.
The pressure on Beatrice, the expert said, is clear to see.
“Bea has not been herself and the strain has told on her. She looks tired and has lost weight with worry,” he claimed
“She is worried sick about her parents and now her marriage.”
While Beatrice and Edo put on a united front at the June wedding of Beatrice’s cousin Peter Phillips, Edo has spent frequent time abroad in recent months – leading a source to tell Daily Mail, “[Beatrice] wants to stay together, but he seems more and more distracted by work and travel. Just when she needs him most, he’s been pulling away.”
Edo hit back against the claims in a rare statement, with the 42-year-old telling the Daily Mail, “As you well know, it is completely normal for a business owner to travel for work. It happens in every industry.”
Indeed, he made a very public show of affection towards his wife for her 38th birthday, posting a carousel of photos, with the caption: “Happy Birthday to my phenomenal, beautiful wife. We love [sic] so much. You make our world. Love E,W,S,A xxxx 8.8.88.”
The initials referred to the couple’s daughters Sienna, four, and Athena, two, and Edo’s son, Wolfie, 10, from a previous relationship.
Another insider shed more light on the York family drama, telling Woman’s Day: “Sarah has never gelled with Edo, he’s complained that she looked down her nose at him for years and made it very clear that she didn’t consider him worthy of her daughter.
“That’s something he tolerated and learned to bite his lip about, but only because he had to.
“Things are very different now and he’s not pulling any punches or tiptoeing around the situation anymore.”
The source claimed Edo had told Beatrice “in no uncertain terms that her parents are poisonous characters who are dragging them – as well as Eugenie and Jack – down by association”.
“It’s put Beatrice in a truly awful position, because she still loves her mother dearly and worries how she’ll react if they cut her off entirely,” the insider went on.
“But even she would be hard pressed to deny that [Sarah] hasn’t done this to herself, ultimately. She’s forever interfering and making digs about Edo, so this was always going to come to a head eventually, regardless of the Epstein scandal.”
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