India Hicks, the second cousin of Prince Philip, was just 12 years old when she played a crucial part in arguably one of the biggest weddings the world has seen.
The British aristocrat served as a bridesmaid to her godfather Prince Charles, at his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer back in 1981.
Humanitarian worker India, 53, has exclusively spoken to Daily Star about her memories of the big day, which she recalls being “intrusive”.
“I remember vividly bits here and there but there are bits that stand out,
“Oddly, the fragrance that Diana wore was for most people, very powerful. It was called Tea Rose,” India said.
India Hicks has exclusively told Daily Star that she found parts of Prince Charles’ wedding “intrusive” (Image: Lady India Hicks)
She went on to say: “I’ve always felt later how strange it was for someone who was so incredibly shy and at that stage quite uncomfortable in front of the cameras that she wore a fragrance that was very, very strong and powerful.”
The famous day didn’t go without intense rehearsals, which saw the world’s media flock to St Paul’s Cathedral, hoping to catch a sneaky preview of the couple.
Charles and Diana’s wedding was viewed by over 750 million people across the world (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“I remember going to the rehearsal in St Paul’s Cathedral and getting out of the car from boarding school and thinking to myself, oh my God, there were all these cameras here and the world press was kind of there on the steps of the cathedral,” recalled India.
The mum-of-five went on to say that the last time she had seen such a media frenzy was following the murder of her grandfather, Lord Mountbatten.
India, [circled] was just 12 at the time of Charles and Diana’s wedding
Thinking back to the painful time, she told us: “The only other time that I’d seen that was just after my grandfather’s murder, going into Sligo Hospital, where my aunt was on life support and my mother had to deal with everything that was going on and that there were all these cameras again flashing.
“So for me, it felt very, extremely intrusive and very shocking. But of course, they were two such different events.”
India Hicks is the granddaughter of Prince Louis, Earl Mountbatten of Burma (Image: PA)
Reflecting on her earlier life which saw her family heavily involved with the Mountbatten-Windsor’s, she described herself as “incredibly lucky”.
“I have been incredibly lucky in my life to have stood on that Buckingham Palace balcony a couple of times before, because, at that stage, my grandfather was very much a member of the royal family.
“I don’t consider myself a member of the royal family, the royal family is huge now and I’m not.
“But I was lucky to have done that before and then on the day of the wedding to stand there and to see the scene, literally a sea of bodies, the British nation coming out and cheering and just, screaming and excitement, that was just it was just so lovely. It was all just so, so happy at that moment.”
India partnered with disaster relief agency Global Empowerment Mission and provided support on the ground in The Bahamas, where she lives shortly after Hurricane Dorian in August 2019.
The author continues her work for the organisation as well as the Harbour Island Foodbank who provide food for those who lose their jobs following the shut down in The Bahamas.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
