The bride-to-be's mother, Sarah Ferguson, did attend the event.
Princess Beatrice finally got to celebrate her engagement to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on Wednesday night! The daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, invited friends and some family to her engagement party at the Chiltern Firehouse in London, England.
While Sarah was spotted heading to her daughter's soiree, the Duke of York was noticeably absent, a source tells ET.
The source says Prince Andrew didn't attend because he "didn't want to cause a distraction" due to the attention surrounding his alleged connection to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Despite not having her father at her engagement party, Beatrice was still surrounded by plenty of love. Kate Middleton's sister and brother, Pippa and James, were in attendance with their significant others as well as Ellie Goulding, James Blunt and Prince Harry's longtime pal, Guy Pelly.
Beatrice reportedly canceled her initial engagement party shortly after the scandal with her father broke. And while she has not officially announced a wedding date yet, the announcement is expected to be made very soon.
Despite not being at the party, Andrew, 59, did spend time with Beatrice, 31, earlier that day at the Queen's Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace. Both royals were seen arriving separately at the event in addition to Beatrice's sister, Princess Eugenie.
ET has learned everyone was “cordial” at the event. "The family takes their lead from the Queen and obviously he is still part of the family and is loved by his children despite the difficult position the scandal has caused," the source says. The source adds that in addition to Christmas lunch, Andrew is also expected at Sandringham for a Christmas service with his family.
Prince Andrew officially stepped down from his royal duties last month, following a controversial television interview about Epstein.
Another source previously told ET that Andrew still plans to walk Beatrice down the aisle. In the end, everyone just wants Beatrice to "have the wedding she deserves,” the source said at the time.
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