Princess Beatrice expecting baby in autumn

Princess Beatrice is expecting a baby in the autumn, Buckingham Palace has announced.

In a statement, the palace said: "The Queen has been informed and both families are delighted with the news."

The princess, the elder daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, married property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a private ceremony last July.

They had previously postponed the ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes as the Royal Family mourn the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last month.

The baby will be the Queen's 12th great-grandchild, following the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's second child, due in the summer.

Beatrice, 32, and her husband are "very pleased" to be welcoming their first child together, the palace said.

Mr Mapelli Mozzi, who is 37, has a young son known as Wolfie with his former fiancee, so Beatrice is already a stepmother.

She also became an aunt for the first time in February, when her sister Princess Eugenie gave birth to a baby boy named August.

Beatrice's son or daughter will be 11th in line to the throne.

The princess herself will move from 9th to 10th in line following the arrival of the Sussexes' second child.

She was last seen in public at the funeral of her grandfather, Prince Philip, as the royals gathered for an intimate ceremony under pandemic restrictions.

The princess, who is not a full-time working royal, is vice president of partnerships and strategy at Afiniti, an artificial intelligence software firm.

She is also patron of a number of charities, including the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre.

Her husband, known as Edo, is the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi and Nikki Williams-Ellis.