Princess Beatrice’s husband jets out of UK during Prince Andrew drama | Royal | News
Princess Beatrice’s property developer husband has revealed she is not in the UK. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi shared photos on his social media account from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as debates continue over whether Prince Andrew should be removed from the dukedom due to his connections with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The Prince announced last week that he would stop using the title Duke of York to avoid distracting from the affairs of the Royal Family. However, an Act of Parliament would need to be passed to formally abolish his dukedom.
Four in five Britons want Andrew to be formally stripped of his dukedom, according to a YouGov poll, and there is also growing clamor for the prince to be kicked out of his 30-room mansion in Windsor without paying rent. The murky relationship between the prince and the pedophile has haunted Andrew for over a decade, but as things come to a head, speculation grows about how his two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are coping.
It’s unclear whether Beatrice has traveled to Malaysia with her husband, but a photo of her entering Andrew’s Royal Lodge on Wednesday suggests she is staying in the UK and supporting her father.
The princesses’ mother, Sarah Ferguson, has also come under fire in recent days and weeks for emails she allegedly sent to Epstein, calling him a “loyal, generous and sublime friend” and asking him to pay off her significant debts.
Sarah has renounced her title as Duchess of York, but the dukedom continues to exist outside of public contact, although new legislation was introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday allowing King Charles to formally strip Andrew of his title.
Sir Keir Starmer also hinted during PMQs his support for a select committee inquiry into whether Prince Andrew should be allowed to stay at his 30-room mansion in exchange for “pepper-hot” rent.
Responding to Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey, who asked whether the Prime Minister believed MPs should “properly scrutinize the Crown Estate to ensure taxpayers’ interests are protected”, Mr Starmer responded in the affirmative.
“It is important that there is a proper review of all Crown properties and I strongly support that,” he said.
Andrew, who has denied the accusations and falsehoods leveled against him by the late Virginia Giuffre, has lived at the Royal Lodge for nominal rent since 2003, but paid £1 million for the rent and a further £7.5 million for the renovation.
Downing Street also backed calls for the prince to report any information he has about Epstein’s activities to the police.
