How Prince William Prevented Princess Beatrice From Marrying Someone Else

She may be happily engaged now to new fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and planning a royal wedding of her own for 2020, but in an unexpected way, Princess Beatrice may have her cousin, Prince William, to thank for her happily-ever-after ending.

Princess Beatrice has been linked to Mozzi, a business tycoon since late last year, but she was famously in a relationship with American entrepreneur and Uber executive Dave Clark, for 10 years, until the split in 2016. According to Express UK, the pair met when Clark was introduced to Prince William at St. Andrew’s University and played matchmaker for the couple.

However, just a few years after setting the two up, William reportedly became the reason for Beatrice’s relationship having problems—and eventually ending with their devastating 2016 split. Issues allegedly began when Clark was not invited to his 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton because he had concerns that his former friend could be discreet. It allegedly led to some disdain for Middleton on Princess Beatrice’s part as well.

In addition, back in 2015, it was reported that if Beatrice were to ask her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, if she could marry Clark, Prince Wiliam would have potentially stepped in to try and convince the monarch to say no because he didn’t trust him.

“It’s fair to say that if Beatrice had asked the Queen for permission to marry Dave, and she, in turn, asked William privately for his view, she may not have been given a glowing report,” sources said at the time. “Dave is a nice guy and he makes Beatrice happy, which is important. But William has always been wary of him. There is a clash of personalities.”

That same year, the requirement for Beatrice to ask permission before marrying was dropped, as she moved down in the line of succession with the birth of William’s second child, Princess Charlotte. Anyone who is seventh-in-line or lower is not required to seek her Majesty’s permission.

She allegedly still was keen on marrying Clark however, and gave him an ultimatum to either propose to her or end the romance entirely—and the pair went on to take the second option, which was devastating to the Princess.

Today, following the births of Prince Louis and Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, Beatrice currently sits as ninth in line for the throne, meaning she still didn’t need to seek permission to marry Mozzi, who has a son from a prior relationship. It’s unclear if she sought permission from her grandmother anyway. With the current line of succession, the only members of the royal family who would need to seek permission are Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, as the sixth-in-line to the throne is Prince Harry, who married Meghan Markle in 2018. Their son, Archie, will also likely need to ask permission from a future ruling monarch as well when he is ready to marry because he will move up in the line of succession following Queen Elizabeth’s death.