Why Princess Beatrice never uses her secret aristocratic title
Beatrice automatically received the title of princess and the HRH style under the 1917 Letters Patent
Princess Beatrice is widely known by her British royal title, but few people realise she also holds a second, more unusual style, one she never uses publicly.
Born the granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II through her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Beatrice automatically received the title of princess and the HRH style under the 1917 Letters Patent, which grants such honours to children and male-line grandchildren of the monarch.
However, Beatrice also carries a title from an entirely different lineage: Italian nobility.
Through her husband, property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, she is not just a princess but also a countess, a fact that surprises even dedicated royal followers.
Edoardo, who celebrates his 42nd birthday today, descends from an Italian aristocratic family.
As a hereditary count, his wife and children also inherit the corresponding noble titles.
His father, Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi, explained the tradition in an interview with the Daily Mail ahead of the couple’s 2017 wedding, saying: “They are very suited to each other and have known each other for a long time. I've never seen him so happy.
‘Edoardo is the only male descendant taking the family into the next generation. He is a count, his wife will be a countess automatically and any of their children will be counts or nobile donna.”
This means Beatrice is, formally, Countess Beatrice Mapelli Mozzi, though she opts not to use the title in any official or personal capacity.
The couple share two daughters: Sienna, aged four, and baby Athena, who is not yet one.
Both girls are entitled to the Italian titles of nobile donna or countess by birth. Edo also has a son, Christopher Woolf “Wolfie”, nine, from his previous relationship with American architect Dara Huang.
Despite holding both British and Italian noble titles, Beatrice has kept her public identity firmly rooted in her role within the royal family, rarely, if ever, using her aristocratic styling.
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