Edo’s mother, Nicola “Nikki” Williams-Ellis (née Burrows), is the granddaughter of Sir Robert Abraham Burrows, a Liberal politician who was, aptly, close friends with George VI when he was Duke of York, the title now held by Princess Beatrice’s father, Prince Andrew. And the threads tying the Mapelli Mozzis and the Yorks, who have known each other for decades, don’t end there. After Edo’s parents split when he was still a child, he lived with his mother and stepfather, Christopher Shale – a Conservative politician and close confidant of David Cameron – who tragically died of undiagnosed heart disease at Glastonbury Festival in 2011. He grew up with one older sister, Natalia, and a younger half-brother, Alby Shale. Edo is known to have been very close to his stepfather Christopher, and perhaps it is no coincidence that his first son with ex-fiancé Dara Huang, born in 2018, is also named Christopher.
At Shale’s funeral, which was attended by both the Mapelli Mozzis and Princess Bea herself, then-Prime Minister Cameron offered a heartfelt tribute, saying: ‘It’s rare enough in life, let alone in politics, to say someone never, ever let you down. I can say that about Christopher, hand on heart. He was a rock of stability, a source of great support and a true friend.’
All, no doubt, qualities instilled in Edo by his much-lauded stepfather. After studying at Radley College and reading Politics at the University of Edinburgh, the ambitious graduate founded Banda, the property development and interior design firm that has since blossomed into a mainstay of the London culturati. Having launched the venture as a 23 year old back in 2007, Edo remains CEO to this day – and is reportedly a multi-millionaire as a result. Having spent so long at the cutting edge of the real estate sector, Edo is outspoken on the matter of property, often urging politicians to consider more redevelopment projects within the Capital. When the soon-to-be father-of-three took Tatler.com on a tour of Banda’s incomparably luxurious family home on Mulberry Square, in Chelsea Barracks he gave a heartfelt insight into the design of a loving family home.