Princess Beatrice wedding: Couple may have only two guests

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi can have only two guests when they tie the knot at Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, if they go ahead with their plans of having their nuptials on Friday, May 29.

In the wake of the rapid spread of novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the Church of England has said the number of people at a wedding should be limited to a legal minimum of five. Instead, the couple is being advised to 'stream' their ceremony to absent friends and family, reports Mail Online.

With the announcement, the church has restricted its ceremonies to the bride and groom, the priest, and only two witnesses. Hence, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi can have only two guests- the two witnesses, if the deadly pandemic continues to wreak havoc by the time of their wedding in May.

This comes a day after Beatrice and Mozzi announced that they are planning to stick to their plans to wed on Friday, May 29, but are considering an intimate marriage with a much smaller guest list. Meanwhile, their reception at the Buckingham Palace gardens due to be hosted by Beatrice's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II was also cancelled.

Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the British monarch, said in a statement: "In line with government advice for the UK and beyond, the couple is reviewing their arrangements for 29th May. 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."

Beatrice's wedding to the property developer, which has already been cancelled twice due to the uproar surrounding her father Prince Andrew, was already marred by the speculations that guests from the groom's side might not be able to attend the wedding, as Mozzi hails from family of Italian nobility, which has been in a lockdown due to the virus.

Beatrice got engaged to Mozzi in Italy in September 2019 after dating for almost a year. Mozzi is father to a three-year-old son- Christopher aka Wolfie, whom he shares with ex-partner Dara Huang.