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Prince Andrew Gave a Speech at Princess Beatrice's 'Low-Key' Wedding Reception

Princess Beatrice’s father Prince Andrew played an important role behind the scenes on her wedding day.

The Duke of York, 60, walked his daughter down the aisle when she secretly wed Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in an intimate ceremony on Friday at All Saint's Chapel in Windsor Great Park.

Following the ceremony, the bride, 31, and groom, 36, kicked off the celebrations with an outdoor party attended by around 30 people on the grounds of Royal Lodge, the shared home of Beatrice’s parents, Andrew and Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, who divorced in 1996.

During the reception, Andrew gave a speech in honor of his daughter’s union, a royal source tells PEOPLE. Mapelli Mozzi also gave a toast at the reception, as did the groom’s stepbrother, Alby Shale.

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Benjamin Wheeler/PA Wire Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

The low-key celebration avoided drawing attention to the ongoing scandal surrounding Andrew, whose connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced him to step down from royal duty in 2019.

He was notably absent from the official wedding portraits, along with ex-wife Ferguson, 60, and Beatrice’s younger sister Princess Eugenie. Instead, Beatrice and Mapelli Mozzi chose to release a sentimental photo featuring them alongside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Benjamin Wheeler/PA Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

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“I think because of everything going on with her dad, this [scaled-down wedding] was actually better in many ways,” says a friend, who notes that compared to Eugenie—whose 2018 wedding to Jack Brooksbank was a lavish affair—“Beatrice has always been more low-key. She is a little more serious and more traditional, and she would have been very conscious to do the right thing.”