Princess Beatrice turned 38 with plenty to celebrate this year. Days earlier, she became an aunt again when her sister, Princess Eugenie, welcomed her third child with husband Jack Brooksbank. Her birthday also received some sweet tributes, including one from her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, putting rumors of a rift in their marriage to rest.
© Pacific Coast News/The Grosby GroupOn Instagram, Mozzi posted a selfie of them silhouetted against the sea at sunset and wrote, in all caps, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE."
He followed that with a full post on Instagram, sharing various photos of the two together over the years. "Happy Birthday to my phenomenal, beautiful wife. We love so much. You make our world. Love E,W,S,A xxxx 8.8.88," he wrote, refering to their children together: Sienna, 4, Athena, 1, and Christopher, known as Wolfie, 10.
Wolfie is a son of Mozzi from a previous relationship.
A family already full
Eugenie's new baby gave the York sisters a fresh reason to celebrate together. Announcing the birth on Instagram, Eugenie wrote: "Jack and I are so excited to announce Baby Girl Brooksbank!! We are beyond in love with our girlie."
Buckingham Palace followed with its own statement, saying the couple was "delighted" by their daughter's arrival and that King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the Royal Family had been informed and were "equally thrilled by the news."
Mozzi also joined in on the celebrations, leaving a string of pink hearts and a baby-angel emoji on his sister-in-law's post.
What Edoardo has said about his priorities
© Princess Eugenie/IGThe public gesture follows a rare interview Mozzi gave to Gentleman's Journal, in which the 42-year-old was uncharacteristically candid about what matters to him. Asked to describe his ideal holiday, he said: "Getting off the beaten track, disconnecting from emails and news, and spending time with my family."
He named "experiences, travel and time with family" as his biggest luxury, and when asked how he unwinds, kept it simple: "Time with family and friends."
Where the marriage rift rumors came from
Over the past year, Mozzi has been traveling frequently. The fallout from Beatrice's father's legal troubles also appears to have weighed heavily on the couple. In February, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations that he shared confidential government information with Jeffrey Epstein. It made him the first member of the modern royal family to be arrested.
© Max Mumby/Indigo"Things haven't been great for a while between them, but Beatrice has been determined to soldier on and forge a path through," said a source to The Mail on Sunday. The same report suggested Mozzi was increasingly consumed by work as his wife needed him most.
People and friends close to the couple pushed back hard. A source told PEOPLE the marriage-trouble reports were "complete nonsense."
Recent months have offered plenty of evidence for that version of events. The couple looked close at Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling's wedding, while also sharing a breezy joint selfie on a summer trip to Greece.
Shielding the next generation
With their father's legal situation still unresolved, both York sisters have made clear where their attention is now.
"They're trying to stay away from it. They have young children, and this is their grandfather — their focus is on protecting their own children from his," said a source to PEOPLE.
© Samir Hussein
