The royal family is mourning the loss of one of its beloved members, who passed away at the age of 97.
Lady Pamela Hicks, a Lady-in-Waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth and a cousin of Prince Philip, was the oldest living descendant of Queen Victoria, reported PEOPLE Magazine. Her daughter, fashion designer India Hicks, confirmed her passing on Instagram.
Lady Pamela Hicks Was ‘The Last of Her Kind’ Says Daughter
India Hicks, daughter of Pamela Hicks, shared a post with the news her mother had peacefully passed, on social media.
She 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. And through the prism of a crowded and remarkable past, she made incomparable company, carrying her memories lightly, and always with humor.”
“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,” Hicks concluded.
Who Was Pamela Hicks?
According to Town & Country, Pamela Hicks was the first cousin of Prince Philip, a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth. She was one of eight bridesmaids during Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding on November 20, 1947.
She was said to have been with Elizabeth and Philip during a Commonwealth trip to Kenya when the 25-year-old Elizabeth learned her father, King George VI, had passed while sleeping.
Her daughter, India Hicks, was a bridesmaid for then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their July 1981 wedding ceremony. She is also Charles’ goddaughter.
Hicks said of her mother in the book “Lady Pamela,” as excerpted by Town & Country, “When I began to have my own life and my own children and I became a mother myself, I saw her differently; I suddenly realized how extraordinary she was—not just as a mother, but as a person.”
“She was in the shadow of her older sister, who was a remarkable woman, very hardworking, and became a judge. She was very much in the shadow of my father, David Hicks. He was a whirling dervish of design and ideas and a passion for life. And she was, of course, in the shadow of the Queen. As she should have been, as a lady in waiting.”
King Charles Paid Tribute to Pamela Hicks
GettyThe Telegraph reported that King Charles shared a tribute to Pamela Hicks via a palace statement.
It read, “His Majesty was greatly saddened to learn of the death of Lady Pamela Hicks. A sorrow tempered by the fondest memories and deepest gratitude for her long life and loyal service to Queen Elizabeth.”
The statement continued, “The King and Queen’s thoughts are with Lady Pamela’s family, as they mourn a woman whose warmth, wit, and perspicacity always made such an impression, and who will be so dearly missed by all those who knew and loved her.”
It’s always sad to hear about a royal passing. I wonder how the family will commemorate their memory during the upcoming events.