Princess Beatrice's husband was absent from this week's royal Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
The 37-year-old was spotted at Tuesday afternoon's celebration with Princess Eugenie, 35.
King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted the annual event, which brought together members of the Royal Family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales.
For Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 42, this marked an unusual departure from recent years, as the property developer typically accompanies Beatrice to royal engagements ranging from Royal Ascot to church services at Sandringham.
Princess Beatrice's husband was absent from this week's royal Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
|GETTY
The reason for Edoardo’s absence soon became clear through social media. The Italian nobleman took to Instagram to share an image of the Los Angeles skyline, captured from an elevated vantage point.
"Site meeting today in LA," he captioned the photograph, tagging Banda Property, the design studio he established in 2007.
The post appeared to indicate a straightforward scheduling conflict between his professional commitments and the family gathering.
The festive lunch traditionally serves as an opportunity for extended Royal Family members who will not be joining the monarch at Sandringham over Christmas to celebrate together beforehand.
The reason for Edoardo’s absence soon became clear through social media.
|Edoardo works as a property developer, and his California trip represented a business obligation that evidently could not be rescheduled around the palace event.
In contrast, twelve months earlier, Beatrice arrived at the same event with her husband behind the wheel.
She had been expecting their daughter Athena at the time, who is now ten months old.
In contrast, twelve months earlier, Beatrice arrived at the same event with her husband behind the wheel.
|GETTY
Their daughter Sienna, now four, had also been present in the vehicle, seated in the back alongside her half-brother Christopher Woolf, nine, Mapelli Mozzi's son from his previous relationship with architect Dara Huang.
The King, 77, has maintained this pre-Christmas tradition that was established by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who enjoyed gathering her wider family before departing for her official Christmas break in Norfolk.
Among those attending this year's early festivities were Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, along with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their daughter Lady Louise Windsor.
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