Pamela Hicks: Cousin, Bridesmaid, and Witness to History

Pamela Hicks, who passed away at 97, served as a cousin, bridesmaid, and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. Her life was marked by significant historical moments, including witnessing the birth of an independent India as the daughter of Britain’s last imperial viceroy. Hicks was also present in Africa when Queen Elizabeth learned of her father’s death, subsequently ascending to the throne.

Her death was announced by her daughter, India Hicks, on social media, without disclosing the location.

Born in a Ritz Hotel suite in Barcelona, with King Alfonso XIII of Spain supervising the appointment of her physician, Pamela Hicks lived a life closely intertwined with Europe’s royal families. She was a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a first cousin to Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband. Her father, Lord Louis Mountbatten, descended from Germany’s Battenberg dynasty and is said to have mentored King Charles III when he was heir to the throne. Hicks and her elder sister Patricia, served as bridesmaids at the 1947 royal wedding, being third cousins to Queen Elizabeth.

Hicks’s experiences included both tragedy and what some might consider scandal. Her father died in a 1979 bomb attack on the family’s fishing boat, orchestrated by the Irish Republican Army. Her mother, Edwina Ashley, an heiress known for her beauty and wealth, took lovers, and one lived with the family, reportedly with her husband’s consent.

When the Mountbatten family relocated to New Delhi in 1947, Britain was preparing to relinquish “the jewel in the crown” of its empire. Edwina allegedly formed a mutual attachment with Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister. However, Hicks always denied allegations of any sexual nature to their relationship.