Princess Beatrice Denies She Broke COVID-19 Rules While Dining Out in London

• Princess Beatrice has denied breaking COVID-19 restrictions by eating at a London restaurant last week with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and four other people from different households.
• UK lockdown rules prohibit people from different households from mixing indoors, although exceptions are made for work meetings.
• "This was a midweek Wednesday evening, work related, business development dinner, it was held in compliance with all government guidelines, the dinner was held in the early evening and all parties left in good time before the government curfew."

Princess Beatrice has denied she broke lockdown restrictions by dining in a London restaurant with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and four others from different households. Beatrice was spotted eating at Isabel in London's affluent Mayfair neighborhood last Wednesday, according to the Independent, with guests reportedly including former Roberto Cavalli designer Peter Dundas. The designer posted a photo of himself and Beatrice on Instagram, seemingly taken inside the restaurant, with both wearing masks but failing to socially distance.

The UK is currently under a three-tier system of restrictions, with London in tier two when Beatrice was spotted at Isabel (on December 16, the capital moved up to tier three due to significant rises in COVID-19 infections). Under tier two restrictions, people from different households cannot meet in restaurants or other indoor settings, and could face fines if they break the rules.

However, indoor business meetings between members of different households are permitted under tier two regulations (although, as the Independent notes, this concession is aimed at self-employed or freelance workers who don't have a regular workplace where they can meet). A spokesperson for Beatrice and Mapelli Mozzi said the group were meeting at Isabel for work reasons, and therefore were not in violation of lockdown rules. "This was a midweek Wednesday evening, work related, business development dinner, it was held in compliance with all government guidelines, the dinner was held in the early evening and all parties left in good time before the government curfew," the spokesperson told the Mirror.