It appears that Princess Beatrice's wedding will be even more low-key than the bride and groom first planned. The Princess and her fiancé, businessman Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, are set to tie the knot on 29 May at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, in a ceremony that was expected to be attended by 150 of their family and friends. However, the Church of England has advised that during the coronavirus outbreak, the number of people attending church weddings should be limited to the legal minimum of five - which consists of the happy couple, the priest, and two witnesses.
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On Wednesday, the couple announced that they had cancelled their planned wedding reception in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and said they would be looking at whether holding a small ceremony would still be possible. A statement from the Palace read: "Princess Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi are very much looking forward to getting married but are equally aware of the need to avoid undertaking any unnecessary risks in the current circumstances.
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© Photo: PAThe couple got engaged in September 2019
"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."
READ: Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi cancel wedding reception plans due to coronavirus
If they confirm they are going ahead with the ceremony, Beatrice and her beau will face the difficult choice of who to invite, as her sister, Princess Eugenie, and parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson would not all be able to attend. Edoardo's family, meanwhile, live in Italy, one of the countries that has been hardest hit by the pandemic.
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