Princess Beatrice has been happily married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi since 2018 – but prior to meeting her husband, she was in a decade-long relationship with Dave Clark
Before finding love with her husband, Princess Beatrice was in a decade-long romance that many thought would end in marriage.
Beatrice first met Dave Clark through her cousin, Prince William. The two men had met while studying in Scotland – the Prince attended St Andrews while Dave went to Edinburgh University – and William went on to introduce the pair in 2006, reportedly at a party hosted by actor Pierce Brosnan’s son Sean.
But it seems William also had a hand in the couple’s ultimate decision to split in July 2016.
Dave – known as ‘Dashing Dave’ – moved in the same social circles as Beatrice and her family; mutual friends included the Bransons and he enjoyed a transatlantic lifestyle, having been raised between London and New York.
The couple kept a relatively low profile during most of their relationship, although they were occasionally spotted on vacations, having romantic dinners, and even running the London Marathon together.
He would also attend royal events with Beatrice – and her family were also clearly enamoured, with her mother, Sarah Ferguson, telling People, “I call him Mr. Smiley because he smiles and he’s happy. I love Dave.”
Over the course of their relationship, Beatrice showed her dedication by following Dave to San Francisco and New York – and there were multiple engagement rumours. But, according to the Mail, there was also a growing sense of distrust in royal circles.
Prince William reportedly felt uneasy about the relationship, with whatever friendship the two men had once shared turning cold. Insiders said he found it hard to ‘warm’ to Dave.
But the biggest clue that the Anglo-American had been pushed to the periphery came when William and Kate sent out the invitations for their royal wedding in April 2011. Tellingly, there was no room for Dave on the guest list, with Beatrice instead attending with her sister, Princess Eugenie.
It’s been suggested that Prince William believed Dave to be ‘too indiscreet’ to invite to the nuptials.
Nevertheless, the couple stayed together for another five years before their relationship came crashing down. In 2016, Beatrice issued an ultimatum to her boyfriend of a decade, insisting they marry. He turned her down – and to make matters worse, quickly moved on with an advertising executive from the US named Lynn Anderson. They married in 2018.
Heartbroken Beatrice remained single for another two years, until 2018 when she started dating her now-husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. His family had been close friends with her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah for decades.
The couple went on to marry on 17 July 2020 and in September 2021, Beatrice welcomed their first child together, a little girl named Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi.
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