Lady Pamela Hicks, a close friend of Elizabeth II and one of her bridesmaids when she married Prince Philip, has died, her daughter India has announced
One of the late Queen’s best friends who was a bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince Philip has died, her daughter has announced.
Lady Pamela Hicks, who was the daughter of Lord Mountbatten and also a cousin of Philip, died peacefully today, her daughter India posted on social media. She was a long-time lady-in-waiting for Elizabeth II and was with her in Kenya when she learned of the death of her father George VI and ascended to the throne.
Paying tribute India, who was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana, wrote: “Whilst there is no tragedy in the death of a 97-year-old who has lived a full life I know grief will be unavoidable, lurking around waiting for me, but today I am simply grateful that she was my Mother.
“And through the prism of a crowded and remarkable past, she made incomparable company, carrying her memories lightly, and always with humour.
“My mother maintained right up to the end, the impeccable style, sharp mind, and effortless charm that made her not only a cherished institution, but truly the last of her kind.”
Born in April 1929, Lady Pamela was the youngest daughter of Lord Mountbatten -the uncle of Prince Philip – and Edwina Ashley. Thanks to her family’s close ties to the Royal Family she was asked to be one of eight bridesmaids of the then Princess Elizabeth when she married the former Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey in November 1947.
Afterwards, she became a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth, and staying one in the role when she became Queen in 1952. She later recalled being with the former monarch in Kenya, when she had learned her father had passed away and was now Queen. She said: “They asked her what she wanted to be called as Queen.
“She was astounded by the question and said: ‘Elizabeth. That’s my name.’ It was so typical of her. She showed great control, though I think she may have been in floods once we were on the plane home.”
While speaking to her daughter on The India Hicks Podcast in 2019, Lady Pamela recalled the moment Philip was told the news, recounting: “Philip just takes the newspaper and covers his face with it, hides behind it and says ‘This will be such a shock’.”
She added: “As she (Elizabeth) comes into the room. I think ‘Oh, poor girl, her father’s died’. So I go over to her, give her a hug and think ‘Oh my god, it’s the Queen’ so I go into a deep curtsy. And she says ‘I’m so sorry. It means we’ve all got to go back’… She was only thinking of all of us.”
In 1960, she married David Hicks in a society wedding, where a young Princess Anne was bridesmaid. As well as daughter India, they also had another daughter Edwina, and a son, Ashley.
In 1979, her father Lord Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb while fishing off the coast of County Sligo in Ireland. In November 1983, Lady Pamela accompanied the Queen to the unveiling of a statue of the late Lord Mountbatten in Westminster, at which the monarch gave a speech.
She lost her husband David to lung cancer in 1998. Lady Pamela remained a lifelong friend of the late Queen and published several memoirs about her life with the Royal Family and her early life as the daughter of Lord Mountbatten.
When Elizabeth II died in 2022, she became the oldest living descendant of Queen Victoria and attended the state funeral alongside daughter India.
She later wrote on Instagram: “What a privilege. To have seen the sun set over Westminster Abbey last night and to return today, beside my mother, for the State Funeral, followed by the Committal Service in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Service in life, hope in death’ said the Archbishop of Canterbury. God Bless The Queen. Long Live The King.”
Lady Pamela was portrayed on-screen as a minor character in Netflix’s The Crown, featuring in the show’s retelling of Elizabeth’s wedding to the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. Writing in Town and Country magazine in 2016, her daughter India revealed her mother, who was also Philip’s cousin, judged the show to be “rather good”.
