Lady Pamela Hicks, one of the last living links to the golden age of the British monarchy and a lifelong member of the Royal Family’s inner circle, has died peacefully at the age of 97.
The news was announced by her daughter, India Hicks, who paid an emotional tribute to her mother, describing her as a woman of “impeccable style, sharp mind and effortless charm” and “truly the last of her kind.”
Sharing the news on Instagram, India wrote: “My mother died peacefully today. 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.”
She continued: “Through the prism of a crowded and remarkable past, she made incomparable company, carrying her memories lightly, and always with humour.”
Born in Barcelona, Lady Pamela was the daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, one of the most influential figures in modern British history. She was also a cousin of Prince Philip and a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
For decades, Lady Pamela occupied a unique place within the Royal Family. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and was one of the eight bridesmaids at the future Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947. With her passing, only Princess Alexandra remains alive from the bridal party.
One of Lady Pamela’s most extraordinary experiences came in February 1952 when she accompanied Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their royal tour of Kenya. The group was staying at the famous Treetops Hotel when news arrived that King George VI had died.
Recalling the historic moment years later, Lady Pamela famously said: “She goes up as a princess. The King dies that night. She comes down the ladder as a Queen.”
Speaking on her daughter’s podcast in 2019, she remembered how Prince Philip reacted when he was informed of the King’s death.
“Philip just takes the newspaper and covers his face with it, hides behind it and says, ‘This will be such a shock’.”
She also recalled her own emotional reaction when Elizabeth entered the room.
“As she 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.”
According to Lady Pamela, even in that life-changing moment, the newly crowned monarch was thinking about others.
“She says, ‘I’m so sorry. It means we’ve all got to go back’… She was only thinking of all of us.”
Lady Pamela remained close to Queen Elizabeth throughout her life and later reflected on the monarch’s coronation in 1953. Speaking in a 2021 documentary, she admitted she worried about the burden facing the young Queen.
“Seeing her, this young woman of 27, utterly alone, I wondered how she’d have the strength to undertake this duty all her life. I think one knew she would, because there’s such inner strength there.”
In 1960, Lady Pamela married renowned interior designer David Hicks. Their wedding attracted an extraordinary guest list that included Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother, then-Prince Charles, and Princess Anne, who served as a bridesmaid.
The couple had three children—India, Ashley Hicks and Edwina Brudenell. David Hicks died in 1998.
In later life, Lady Pamela became celebrated for preserving and sharing her remarkable memories of the Royal Family through a series of memoirs, including India Remembered, Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten and My Years with the Queen.
She also gained a new generation of admirers when she appeared as a character in the hit Netflix series The Crown. According to her daughter, Lady Pamela thought the show was “rather good.”
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Lady Pamela became Queen Victoria’s oldest living descendant and attended the late monarch’s state funeral in a wheelchair alongside India.
Her death marks the passing of one of the final witnesses to some of the most defining moments in royal history—from a young princess becoming Queen in Kenya to the coronation that shaped a modern monarchy.
Lady Pamela Hicks leaves behind a remarkable legacy of service, loyalty and firsthand memories from an era that has now largely passed into history.
