Few figures are more closely connected to the Royal Family than India Hicks.
India, who celebrates her 57th birthday today, is the granddaughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip‘s uncle and adviser who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.
She has established herself as a model, interior designer and businesswoman and lives in the Bahamas with her husband, David Flint Wood.
India was one of the five bridesmaids at the 1981 wedding of Diana and Charles, who is both her godfather and second cousin.
She is the daughter of interior designer David Hicks and Lady Pamela Hicks, a former lady-in-waiting to the late Queen and daughter of Lord Mountbatten.
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India Hicks, who turns 57 today, married her long-term partner, David Flint Wood, in 2021. They exchanged vows atat St. Bartholomew’s Church in India’s home village of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire
India married her long-term partner, David Flint Wood, in 2021 at the age of 54.
The couple relocated to the Caribbean together in 1996, but they chose to come back to the UK for their wedding.
Following 26 years together, they exchanged vows at St. Bartholomew’s Church in India’s home village of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, as their five children looked on.
India was previously christened at the church and her father is buried there.
‘Having lived a fairly unconventional life together on a small island in the Bahamas for more than two decades, we decided that our wedding should, in contrast, be very conventional,’ India wrote in an article for Vogue.
India stunned in an exquisite ivory tulle and lace dress by Emilia Wickstead, featuring a turtleneck and dramatic A-line skirt that swept the ankle.
She accessorised with a pair of white satin court shoes by Christian Louboutin and carried a beautiful bouquet by Pulbrook & Gould London.
The company poignantly made her mother’s wedding bouquet in 1960.
Her ring was a gold and diamond band from Charlotte Chesnais, which the couple chose together in Paris a few months earlier.
They had the words ‘amor vincit omnia’, translating to ‘love conquers all’, engraved on the inside.
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India’s eldest-born son, Felix, travelled with his mother to the church before walking her down the aisle
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India was previously christened at the church, located in her home village of Brightwell Baldwin, and her father is buried there
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India and David had been together for 26 years before they got married. The couple relocated to the Caribbean together in 1996. Above: The couple at the Serpentine Gallery’s summer party, 2009
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Interior designer David Nightingale Hicks on Windermere Island in the Bahamas, April 1980. Also pictured are his wife, Lady Pamela Hicks (nee Mountbatten), his daughters Edwina and India, his son Ashley, and George Mountbatten, the 4th Marquess of Milford Haven
India’s bridesmaids were led by her daughter Domino, while her son Felix walked her down the aisle.
She shared that the wedding had ‘all the English trimmings’ complete with ‘a choir’ and ‘a series of uplifting hymns’.
If not for a fortunate twist of fate, India might have died at the age of 11.
On August 27, 1979, she chose to stay at her grandfather’s home in County Sligo, Ireland, and watch a Laurel and Hardy film rather than join him and other family members for a fishing trip.
Shortly after the party set off, a concealed IRA bomb detonated, killing Lord Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas, teenage crew member Paul Maxwell and Doreen Knatchbull, the mother of Mountbatten’s son-in-law.
Speaking in 2019, India said of the disaster: ‘The damage that was done was so much deeper than any of us could ever have imagined. And adult lives are still being horrifically disrupted.’
Two years after the tragedy, India was asked by Charles if she would be a bridesmaid and his and Diana’s wedding.
‘I had to practise,’ she later recalled.
‘It was during these rehearsals I got to know Diana, whom I first met at a dress fitting.
‘She always seemed more like a head girl than a princess-in-waiting, with never a shy moment in private.’
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India was one of the five bridesmaids at the 1981 wedding of Diana and Charles, who is both her godfather and second cousin
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India was 13-years-old when Charles personally called her to ask if she would be a bridesmaid at his 1981 wedding to Diana
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Lady Pamela Hicks and India Hicks attend the funeral of Patricia Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, on June 27, 2017
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India attends a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey on March 29, 2022
India has preserved her bridesmaid’s wreath from the ceremony at St Paul’s, keeping it in its original box.
In 2022, she shared a photo of her dress – still in pristine condition – on social media.
It was displayed alongside another royal bridesmaid dress, worn by her mother, Lady Pamela, now 95, who had served as a bridesmaid to the late Queen Elizabeth.
At the age of 18, India moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to study photography.
After graduating in 1990, her father introduced her to the Emilio Pucci brand in Florence, Italy, where she began her modelling career by showcasing swimsuits.
She later modelled for prominent brands, such as Ralph Lauren, Tod’s and J. Crew.
Despite her royal connections, India has worked hard to forge her own path.
She became a designer and businesswoman, launching a luxury lifestyle brand, before closing the business in 2022 to spend more time with her children: Wesley, 27, Felix, 25, Amory, 23, Conrad, 19, and Domino, 14.
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Despite her royal connections, India has worked hard to forge her own path, establishing herself as a model, interior designer and businesswoman
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India and David attend Chucs Dive & Mountain Shop Swim Party in aid of Charity: Water at The Serpentine on July 4, 2011
India adopted Wesley after his mother died of cancer.
On the eve of King Charles’s coronation, India said her godfather was ‘considerate’ and ‘patient’, but she did not receive an invitation to the crowning ceremony.
She posted photos on her Instagram account showing herself outside Buckingham Palace and she also appeared on Australian TV to discuss all things royal ahead of the King’s big moment.
She serves her godfather’s charity, the Prince’s Trust, as a patron for Women Supporting Women.
After attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, India revealed that she would be undertaking a bicycle ride from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle in a bid to raise money for the charity.
India’s work for the Prince’s Trust exists alongside her support for Global Empowerment Mission, a nonprofit that assists in the wake of international disasters.
In May 2022, she visited Ukraine alongside her son in support of the organisation, transporting clothing and spending time in a therapy shelter helping Ukrainian children.
