Princess Beatrice engaged to Italian property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Princess Beatrice is engaged to her multi-millionaire boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, with the wedding to take place in 2020.

Princess Beatrice is engaged to her multi-millionaire boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the Duke and Duchess of York have announced.

The couple, who have been together for 11 months, became engaged while away for the weekend in Italy earlier this month.

“I’m so excited,” Beatrice gushed on Twitter as her parents said they were “thrilled”.

“We are thrilled that Beatrice and Edoardo have got engaged, having watched their relationship develop with pride,” Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson said in a statement.

“We are the lucky parents of a wonderful daughter who has found her love and companion in a completely devoted friend and loyal young man. We send them every good wish for a wonderful family future.”

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have been together for 11 months. Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Mr Mapelli Mozzi’s parents, Nikki and Alessandro, said they too were delighted.

“We are truly delighted about Edoardo and Beatrice’s engagement. Our family has known Beatrice for most of her life. Edo and Beatrice are made for each other, and their happiness and love for each other is there for all to see,” they said.

“They share an incredibly strong and united bond, their marriage will only strengthen what is already a wonderful relationship.”

Beatrice, 31, started dating Mr Mapelli Mozzi, 34, after her sister Eugenie’s wedding. He then moved into Beatrice’s apartment at St James’s Palace earlier this year.

The multi-millionaire property developer, who has a son with his former fiancé Chinese-American architect Dara Huang, has been a family friend of the Yorks for years.

"We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together," the pair said in a statement.

"We share so many similar interests and values, and we know that this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.”

In a touching post on Instagram, Mr Mapelli Mozzi wrote: “You will never be alone my love, my heart is your home. Hand in hand, today, tomorrow and forever.”

“We share so many similar interests and values and we know this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.” – Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi.

— The Duke of York (@TheDukeOfYork) September 26, 2019

The couple got together after Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October, 2018. Picture: Alex Bramall/Buckingham Palace/AFP

The wedding will take place in 2020, with the royal family to release further details “in due course”.

It comes after Beatrice’s younger sister, Princess Eugenie married her boyfriend of seven years, Jack Brooksbank, at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on October 12 last year.

On Instagram, Eugenie said she was “so happy” for her “dearest big sissy”.

“Beabea - wow! ... It's been a long time coming and you two are meant to be,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Australian fashion label, Zimmermann, also had cause for celebration after Princess Beatrice wore its Allia floral print linen maxi dress in her engagement photos, taken by Princess Eugenie.

"Princess Beatrice looks really lovely ... we're so thrilled she chose one of our dresses to wear on this special occasion,” creative director Nicky Zimmermann told Vogue Australia.

The engagement also comes as the Duke of York faces renewed pressure to explain his past friendship with millionaire financier and registered sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, following his death in a New York prison cell in August.

Epstein’s Australian “sex slave”, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 and has challenged him to “come clean”. But the Duke of York has emphatically denied he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Roberts Giuffre.

“The allegations made are false and without any foundation,” the royal household said in a statement.

The scandal forced Princess Eugenie to put her new podcast about antislavery and sex trafficking on hold.