Princess Beatrice is Married!

[alliwantisagoodnightssleep]

Daily Mail reports they have privately married at Windsor Castle.

Lovely news if true.

I hope they have a lifetime of love and happiness.

@FannyCann

Going back to Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend, I read Craig Brown's Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret. It's an entertaining read, and quite insightful. I was shocked by the details regarding Peter Townsend. He was 16 years older than Margaret, he became equerry to King George VI in 1944 when she was 14. It is rumoured the romance started during the 1947 tour to South Africa when she was 17 and he was 33. But he didn't get his divorce until 1952. He was sent off to a posting in Belgium in 1953 to put a bit of distance between him and Margeret. During his time in Belgium he picked up (literally) a young Belgian girl who fell off her horse at his feet at a horse show. He ingratiated himself with her parents , as you do. She was about 14 at the time, he was 40.

He returned to the UK to reunite with Princess Margaret before she finally decided that life as humble Mrs Townsend wasn't really for her and put an end to the rumours and the relationship with her public statement in 1955.

He returned to Belgium, and married the young Marie-Luce Jamagne in 1959 when he was 45 and she was 20.

To call him a cad would be polite.

I don't think public opinion would be so forgiving of such a man these days.

I’m so glad you posted this Fanny I remember reading about this years ago and think he was a really dodgy character to put it mildly, I hate this star crossed lovers nonsense that’s peddled around, Margaret could have married the cradle robbing creep if she had wanted to.

@FannyCann ugh, I had no idea about Peter Townsend's predatory nature where teenage girls were concerned. Agree that he would rightly been thought of with far less sympathy now.

Princess Margareta didn't wear the same dress her sisters Brigitta and Desiree did, but it wasn't a million miles away in terms of the simplicity of its style. All the Swedish wedding dresses of that generation were...monastic!

Also, my guess is that that dress is Beatrice's now. And after her it might go in whatever collection keeps historically significant royal clothes. Maybe, when we're all really old we'll see Beatrice's daughter wed in it :)

I think Beatrice has always had a very personal sense of style, never afraid of fun and silly and occasionally "risky" hats for exemple. Not only the "loo seat", but also a head full of butterflies and other exemples. This is probably calming down now with maturity but she has the perfect look for vintage and it is so nice that she dared do this.

Especially since so often the British princesses of her generation and sometimes the older ones too, are pretty much treated in public like their only worth is as clotheshorses in whatever esthetic your gutter press (and fashion press) deems desirable for the day. Not much space there to be experimental even if you'd love to be.

I think they must have had a lot of fun planning this low pressure private wedding. The Queen probably loved being involved. There must have been lots of zooms from fittings.

As for photos with the couple's parents and other family, of course they exist. We'll probably see them eventually in some context but for now this chosen tactic, weather intentional or not, has really given Beatrice and her style revenge the spotlight I think she deserved.

@Serenster

Going back to a comment few pages ago about the Queen's attitude to second weddings (although I don't want to set off an argument), but she feels so strongly about them that she didn't attend the second weddings of either of her own children. It's one of the things that people who claim she did nothing to support Meghan either don't realise, or ignore - the Queen attended divorcee Meghan's second wedding in a COE church. That's a really big deal from the Queen, and a huge signal of how she wanted to seen to be supporting the marriage. So maybe she wasn't smiling happily for the whole service - but she was there!

She definitely went to Princess Anne’s second wedding in church in Scotland. She didn’t go to Charles’ civil service but she went to the blessing.

I looked at this article (I know The Sun but I'm waiting for a call and I read anything when I'm bored). What I find interesting is that if I adjust the photos so all I can see is the dress and not the wearer my perception of them is completely different. Kate's dress really was spectacular something I never noticed that before because I am so not a fan.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_royal_family/3970456-Princess-Beatrice-is-Married?pg=21

I wonder if both the York girls are pregnant?

Eugenie posted on insta "we're going to have lots of fun together"

Sounds strange - they are sisters, do they not have fun together already? What more could they do that would be fun unless they are both preggers and will have fun raising their kids / sharing bumps?

Yon being pregnant is could be a possibility. Apparently the wedding was arranged in a fortnight.

I guess we'll find out in due course.

I think the wedding was arranged in two weeks following the government’s change of rules about weddings and how many are allowed to attend. Nothing to do with her being pregnant.

Katherine that was my initial thought that it was purely because of the change in rules. And it also got round the awkwardness of PA under a cloud.

But the comment from Eugenie is a weird one unless its hinting at pregnancy. It maybe she means that the two sisters and husband are going to have a lot of fun together .

Part of the reason the wedding was arranged so quickly was because HM and PP are heading off to Balmoral soon and Beatrice wanted her grandparents there .

We don’t know why the wedding took place when it did - why make up reasons?

Maybe Eugenie is referring to their forthcoming spa days when they want to get away from their husbands 🥂

Or just being married together? I mean, technically, nothing will change in their group dynamic but marriage is something different. Otherwise none of us would do it considering we all live together, at the very least, before marrying these days.

What I both love and hate is the hypocrisy. Because she's the princess and she's marrying a man, there just hasn't been the same focus and interference in his life that we saw with any woman marrying into the royal family, particularly Kate and Meghan. He has a kid for pete's sake, who lives with him, but I haven't seen any suggestion of kid being papped, school being hounded etc. Which is brilliant. But also annoying because of the double standard.

Perhaps they intend to take up swinging?

I've seen quite a lot of questionable press over Edo since it was first announced she was going out with him, not least that there was an overlap with his previous fiancee.

I can't think of any occasion when a child associated with a Royal has been papped in recent years, unless I'm forgetting something.

I think distance 'from the throne' might have something to do with it - can't remember any harassment of Autumn Phillips or David Linley's wife (probably not the best examples, but the only distant married-ins I can think of atm!

I think the interest in their partners is less due to being minor royals.

Kate was marrying the future king and would likely give birth to a monarch. Meghan a little less important but still marrying a senior royal, marrying into a HRH title and effectively marrying into a job too. (Even if they have stepped back now).

Edo won't be taking on royal duties as far as we know. Beatrice isn't a working royal. Edo isn't divorced. I can't see what there is to scrutinise.

In fairness though, the wedding was postponed so whilst it may have been organised quickly the original date had already been and gone.

@TheNewLook

Perhaps they intend to take up swinging?

@ajandjjmum
The overlap would be of concern to me. There was a young child involved.

Couldn't agree more LadyEloise. I do think Dara - his ex - has handled the whole situation with absolute class (from what I've read). She's obviously a very successful woman though, so I suppose has plenty to keep her busy when Wolfie is spending 50% of his time with his father.

[quote LadyEloise]**@ajandjjmum
The overlap would be of concern to me. There was a young child involved.[/quote]
Are you sure there was one? I understood that they were amicably separated and still living in the same house, but not as a couple. Could be wrong, can't remember where I heard/read it, but the way they all seem to be handling the situation does rather support that version of events.

There's different stories fleas! Her father says that they were engaged and the first she knew of their break-up was when she read about him and Beatrice in the press. I also saw it written as you say above.

Who truly knows except the two of them!

Are you sure there was one? I understood that they were amicably separated and still living in the same house, but not as a couple. Could be wrong, can't remember where I heard/read it, but the way they all seem to be handling the situation does rather support that version of events.

It might be true, but OTOH its the lie that lots of people tell to explain away an overlap. What was striking at the time was that Dara’s parents, when doorstepped by the press, clearly had absolutely no idea that their daughter and her partner had even split, and they were devastated by the news. Which was very odd since by then Edo was already an item with Beatrice.

I think Dara must be very pragmatic as well as very clever. Beatrice was probably kept in the dark.