The inside story of Princess Beatrice's husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Life is good for Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The property developer, who married Princess Beatrice in 2020, is preparing to welcome his third child.

Edoardo, 40, and Beatrice, 36, announced last month that they were expecting,  and the baby is due in early spring next year.

He has one son, eight-year old Christopher, known as Wolfie, with former fiancee Dara Huang, an American architect.

He also has a daughter, three-year old Sienna, with Beatrice.

In a statement about the new arrival Buckingham Palace said: 'Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their second child together in early spring; a sibling for Wolfie, aged eight, and Sienna, aged three.

'His Majesty The King has been informed and both families are delighted with the news.'

Edoardo, who celebrates his 41st birthday later this month, descends from Italian aristocracy. His father is Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi, a former British Olympian alpine skier, a member of an ancient noble family. 

Count Alessandro and Edoardo's mother Nikki Shale divorced when Edoardo was young. She later married businessman and Conservative activist Christopher Shale, who died in 2011. Edoardo named his son after him.

Growing up, he was educated at the Dragon School then Radley College, both in Oxfordshire, before gaining a masters degree in politics at Edinburgh University. He has a younger sister, Natalia.  

It is believed that Edoardo and Beatrice first met in September 2018, shortly before Beatrice's sister Eugenie got married. 

However, it is said that Edoardo had been close to the family for some time before entering a relationship with Beatrice and that they had known each other when they were younger.

Beatrice's mother Sarah Ferguson is godmother to Edoardo's half-brother Albermarle 'Alby' Shale. 

She has been friends with Edoardo's mother for decades and he previously posted a photograph online that showed the Duchess of York at Nikki's wedding to Christopher Shale. 

Edoardo became engaged to Dara Huang in 2017 after the pair met in 2015.

Their relationship was short-lived, however, and they parted ways in 2018, just weeks before rumours broke out that Edoardo and Beatrice were dating.

It was said that Edoardo helped mend Beatrice's broken heart following her split from Dave Clark in 2016 after a decade together.

Beatrice announced her engagement to Edoardo in September 2019, just 11 months after the couple first started dating, when he proposed to her in Italy.

They said in a statement: 'We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement.

'We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can't wait to actually be married.'

The marriage took place on July 17, 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park after postponing the ceremony because of the pandemic. 

It was a small celebration but Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were there along with close family including Beatrice's father Prince Andrew and her sister Eugenie.

Edoardo's father Count Alessandro previously revealed that the wedding would allow Beatrice to style herself as an Italian contessa and nobile donna (noble woman). 

'They are very suited to each other and have known each other for a long time,' he told The Mail on Sunday. 'I've never seen him so happy.

'Edoardo is the only male descendent 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.' 

Edoardo will inherit the family's seat, the 18th-century Villa Mapelli Mozzi palace in northern Italy. 

At the age of 23, with the support of his family, he founded real estate firm Banda in 2007. The company specialises in finding and developing homes for wealthy clients - and he is reportedly a multi-millionaire.

He is also behind Cricket Builds Hope, an organisation created in his stepfather's memory that teaches Rwandans how to play cricket.

The charity has its roots in the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation, which was founded by Christopher Shale to build the country's first cricket ground.