Sarah Ferguson's loving message to Princess Beatrice on bittersweet day: 'So proud of you'

Sarah Ferguson has sent her eldest daughter a loving message via social media on what was supposed to be Princess Beatrice's wedding day.

The mum-of-two declared she was proud of Beatrice and her fiance, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, for postponing their big day in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

"I am so excited to celebrate yours and Edo's love when we all are out of lockdown," the Duchess of York wrote alongside a throwback photo.

"The most important thing is health and love and today I send it to you and all the other people that were getting married during this time .. so proud of you all," she added.

It's no doubt a bittersweet day for the royal bride-to-be, who said in the engagement announcement in September that she couldn't wait to wed her property-developer beau.

"We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can't wait to be married," they said in a statement.

Since then, the couple's nuptials have been delayed twice, the first time following Prince Andrew's Jeffrey Epstein interview fallout and subsequent resignation from royal duties in November.

Then came Megxit in January, which reportedly delayed the big day again, with the Palace finally announcing in February that the pair would wed on Friday, May 29.

A month later the pandemic hit, and the royal wedding date was called into question once again.

While the couple announced they would cancel the Buckingham Palace reception in light of restrictions, the Palace never confirmed if a small ceremony would go ahead or if the event would be postponed altogether.

Royal commentator Katie Nicholl predicted to 9Honey in March the big day would ultimately be postponed.

The author said that while Beatrice wanted a smaller wedding than sister Princess Eugenie had in 2018, she was unlikely to have a "quickie wedding" and skip the pomp and ceremony altogether.

"I think it's very unlikely Beatrice will go for a wedding that's literally just the immediate families and the gathering of a dozen [people],"

Also, given Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's age puts them in the high risk category of the deadly disease it was unlikely the bride was going to wed without her grandparents in attendance.

"She is incredibly close to the Queen and her grandfather, incredibly close," Nicholl told 9Honey.

"I think she will plan for them to be there and if that means waiting, then she would want to wait for the Queen to be there.

"I don't think it would feel like her wedding without the Queen being there, they are incredibly close."

"I think they will wait for all of this to pass," she added.