beatrice edoardo wedding© Photo: Getty Images

Why Princess Beatrice has just made royal history

The royal married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in Windsor last July

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
May 4, 2021

Princess Beatrice has just made royal history after major legislation changes came into force on 4 May.

Mothers of brides and grooms in England and Wales will now be added to marriage certificates for the first time, after the Home Office announced changes to the Marriage Act.

The Home Office said it would "correct a historic anomaly" by allowing for the names of both parents to appear on the marriage entry.

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It means that Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi will be the last royal bride and groom to have a marriage certificate without their mothers' details included.

Future generations such as the Earl and Countess of Wessex's children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will benefit from the significant change in the Marriage Act in future.

The likes of Sophie and Kate will be named on their children's marriage certificates. 

And from Monday, a single electronic marriage register was also introduced to modernise the process.

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© Photo: Getty Images

Princess Beatrice with her wedding dress on display at Windsor Castle

Beatrice and property developer Edoardo were forced to postpone their original May 2020 nuptials at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace due to the pandemic. 

However, when restrictions were eased over the summer, the couple opted to have a smaller wedding with their closest family and friends at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, in Windsor on 17 July.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were among the guests, and Edoardo's son Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie, had a starring role as his father's best man.

Beatrice looked stunning in one of the Queen's vintage Norman Hartnell gowns, which was modified with puff sleeves for her big day. She also borrowed Queen Mary's diamond fringe tiara, which her grandmother wore for her own wedding day to Prince Philip in 1947.  

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