Meet India Hicks, Prince Charles’ cousin and Princess Diana’s bridesmaid who insists she’s ‘not a royal’, but calls Queen Elizabeth an ‘outstanding example’ ahead of her platinum jubilee
- Her mum was Lady Pamela, first cousin to Prince Philip and former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, while her father was the late British designer David Hicks
- Opening up ahead of the February 6 jubilee, Hicks today lives in the Bahamas and is goddaughter to the Prince of Wales and an ambassador for his charity, The Prince’s Trust
“My mother would always make clear to me, ‘You are not a member of the royal family,’” says India Hicks.
That statement might sound surprising, considering that Hicks, 54, is a second cousin and goddaughter to the Prince of Wales. Her mother, Lady Pamela, is a first cousin to the late Prince Philip and former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth.
It came as no surprise when Hicks was asked to be a bridesmaid at Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981, when she was 12 years old.
After all, she was close to Charles, and the Hicks family often holidayed with him in the Bahamas when she was growing up. These breaks were one of the only times when Charles “wasn’t bothered by anybody”, said Hicks in a fresh interview.
Despite this, Hicks insists she is “absolutely not” a royal.
1. Hicks’ father wanted her to marry a duke
Hicks says that her father, the late British designer David Hicks, had a list of possible marriage candidates for her, all of whom were dukes with “vast estates”.