The countdown to the royal wedding of 2020 is already under way even if the happy couple haven’t shared that many details of their big day so far. Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi announced their engagement in September and will take their vows next year.
The mother of the bride was quick to scotch whispers that her elder daughter might tie the knot overseas. Sarah, Duchess of York has said the wedding can only take place in Britain. And with that in mind, Royal Central has rounded up the possible venues for this celebration from the hot favourites to the unlikely but possible places for next year’s wedding.
St. George’s Chapel, Windsor
Top of any list of potential royal wedding venues must be St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. It’s had a hat trick of marriages in the past year with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank and Lady Gabriella Windsor and Tom Kingston all tying the knot there. Beatrice’s cousin, Peter Phillips, also wed there back in 2008.
It also comes with its own ready made list of reception spots – Harry and Meghan went for St. George’s Hall then headed to Frogmore House which was also where Eugenie, Peter and Gabriella had their celebrations. Windsor is pretty hard to look past.
The London Favourites
But it’s not cut and dried. Westminster Abbey has been a go to wedding venue for the House of Windsor, too, with some of its most historic marriages taking place inside its historic walls. It’s where Beatrice’s parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, took their vows, as did her grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and her great grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother.
However, it is huge and associated more with major royal weddings – such as that of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011. Size and status make it unlikely. For that same reason, we can probably discount St. Paul’s Cathedral where Beatrice’s uncle, the Prince of Wales, married Lady Diana Spencer on July 29th 1981. The heir to the throne’s nuptials were held there to allow enough room for all the VIPs being invited. Beatrice’s wedding is on a much smaller scale.
Small is beautiful
Should Beatrice and Edoardo want a smaller venue, there’s not shortage of little chapels and churches with royal associations for them to choose from. The Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace has been a favourite for christenings in recent years and it’s where Queen Victoria, a heroine of Beatrice’s, had her own wedding in 1840.
Victoria’s daughter, the first Princess Beatrice wed at the equally tiny St. Mildred’s Church at Whippingham on the Isle of Wight. It has all the historical associations and would provide a rather unusual twist to the royal wedding story.
As would St. Mary Magdalene at Sandringham where the Royal Family worship while staying at the Queen’s Norfolk retreat. It’s close to one of the Monarch’s favourite homes meaning travel for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh wouldn’t be onerous.
Just as personal is Crathie Kirk near Balmoral. Should Beatrice decide on a late summer wedding, this would provide the perfect spot to say ‘I do’ as her grandparents would already be on hand for their August break. And it’s got recent royal wedding form as the Princess Royal married Tim Laurence here in 1992.
The York Princess
However, another favourite for the royal wedding of Princess Beatrice of York must be the famous church in the city from which she takes her name. York Minster has been associated with royalty for centuries and last hosted a royal wedding in 1961 when Edward, Duke of Kent wed his Yorkshire born bride, Katherine Worsley, there. It seems an appropriate place for the wedding of a York princess and the last major royal marriage for at least a decade.
Princess Beatrice and her fiancé will share their pick in time and Royal Central will bring you the latest details of the wedding build up as they happen. In the meantime, let us know where you think the royal wedding of 2020 will take place.
