Last week, Prince Andrew pulled out of the pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, and his people announced that Andrew and Sarah Ferguson would skip Christmas at Sandringham. King Charles absolutely invited Andrew and Fergie, and they were due to stay at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate, as they have done for the past two Christmases. Alongside that announcement, we heard that the York princesses, Eugenie and Beatrice, would also skip Sandringham this year and spend the holidays with their in-laws. Eugenie would spend Christmas with Jack Brooksbank’s family for the first time in years, and Beatrice had plans to spend the holiday with Edo Mapelli Mozzi’s family, probably in Italy. Only now there’s been another switch-up – Beatrice and Edo are apparently going to Sandringham after all.
Pregnant Princess Beatrice has been ordered by doctors to stay home in the UK for Christmas in case travelling endangers her baby. The late Queen’s granddaughter was planning to spend Christmas overseas with her property tycoon husband’s family for the first time since their marriage in 2020. But Buckingham Palace announced last night that the Princess, 36, who is in the final months of her second pregnancy, has changed her festive plans following medical advice that she should not travel for ‘long distances’.
On October 1, the Palace announced Princess Beatrice was expecting the baby ‘in early spring’. She is now in the third trimester of her pregnancy, which starts from 28 weeks. Dr Ellie Cannon, Mail on Sunday columnist and GP, said: ‘There are a whole host of reasons why somebody in their third trimester may not be able to fly. Different acute issues might be something common such as a chest infection or even a viral illness, which can be quite serious in pregnancy. Flying can make this worse because of dehydration and sitting still for hours which can also raise the risk of blood clots. More long-term issues could be high blood pressure or diabetes. Travelling long distance can be dangerous in this scenario because of the ongoing monitoring needed.’
The Princess will now celebrate at Sandringham with the Royal Family, alongside husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, her stepson Wolfie, eight, and daughter Sienna, three. She is not expected to join the family in their walk to church on Christmas morning. The Princess has attended other public events recently, including the pre-Christmas Lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
It is not known exactly where Beatrice was planning to travel to spend Christmas, but it was reported that she had been planning to celebrate with her in-laws. Her husband Mr Mapelli Mozzi, known as Edo, is the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and Nikki Williams-Ellis. The family owns an 18th Century mansion an hour from Lake Como in northern Italy.
That makes sense to me – Beatrice was told not to fly, so she and Edo updated their Christmas plans once again. I’m surprised that there are no plans for Bea and Edo to do the Christmas church-walk, but that might be health-related too, or maybe it’s just about Charles not wanting to remind everyone about the Yorks. It’s fine to me that Beatrice and Edo were still welcome at Sandringham, although it’s a little bit funny that they decided to forgo spending Christmas with Andrew and Fergie. It’s also more than possible that Andrew and Fergie aren’t even going to stay in England or Royal Lodge, and that’s why Beatrice has changed her plans.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
