Lady Pamela Hicks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lady Pamela Hicks
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Hicks in 1947
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| Born | Pamela Carmen Louise Mountbatten 19 April 1929 Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain |
| Noble family | Mountbatten |
| Spouse(s) |
David Nightingale Hicks
(m. 1960; died 1998) |
| Issue | Edwina Brudenell Ashley Hicks India Hicks |
| Father | Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma |
| Mother | Edwina Ashley |
Lady Pamela Carmen Louise Hicks (born 19 April 1929) is a member of the British nobility and a relative of the British royal family. She is the younger daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Lady Pamela is a first cousin of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She also served as a bridesmaid and later as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II, who was her third cousin. Lady Pamela is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and, as of 2024, is her oldest living descendant.
Contents
Discovering Lady Pamela Hicks's Early Life
Lady Pamela was born on 19 April 1929 in Barcelona, Spain. Her parents were Edwina Ashley and Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. She is the younger sister of Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Her family, the Mountbatten family, came from a branch of the German House of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1917, her grandparents changed their German titles to British ones because of strong anti-German feelings in Britain. Her father, who was also born a German prince, later became the Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
Through her father, Lady Pamela is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She is also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Her baptism took place on July 12, 1929, at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace. Among her godparents were King Alfonso XIII of Spain and the Prince George, Duke of Kent.
Lady Pamela attended the Hewitt School in New York City.
Time in India
In 1947, Lady Pamela traveled with her parents to India. Her father was the Viceroy of India before it became independent, and then the Governor-General of India until 1948. They lived in Government House in New Delhi and the summer Viceregal Lodge in Simla. After India gained independence, she worked as a secretary for V.K. Krishna Menon, who was then India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Lady Pamela's Royal Duties
In November 1947, Lady Pamela was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth (who later became Queen Elizabeth II) to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. As a lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth, she was with the Princess and the Duke of Edinburgh in Kenya when King George VI died on 6 February 1952. This meant Princess Elizabeth became Queen.
From late 1953 to early 1954, Lady Pamela joined the Queen as a lady-in-waiting on a royal tour. They visited many countries, including Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia.
Lady Pamela also served as the Corps Commandant of the Girls' Nautical Training Corps from about 1952 to 1959.
Family Life and Marriage
Lady Pamela was married to David Nightingale Hicks (1929–1998), a well-known interior decorator and designer. They were married on 13 January 1960 at Romsey Abbey in Hampshire. Princess Anne was one of the bridesmaids at their wedding. After their honeymoon, Lady Pamela learned that her mother had passed away in February 1960.
Lady Pamela and David Hicks had three children:
- Edwina Victoria Louise Hicks (born 1961)
- Ashley Louis David Hicks (born 1963)
- India Amanda Caroline Hicks (born 1967)
David Nightingale Hicks died in 1998 at the age of 69.
Lady Pamela's Later Years
Since 1991, Lady Pamela Hicks has been a Director of H Securities Unlimited, a company that manages funds. She also used to be a director of Cottesmore Farms. In 2002, she sold her mother's tiara at an auction.
In 2007, Lady Pamela wrote a book called India Remembered: A Personal Account of the Mountbattens During the Transfer of Power. In this book, she shared her memories of living in New Delhi and Simla when India gained independence. In 2012, she published another book, Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten. This book covered her childhood, her time in India, and her experiences as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
After her cousin, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, passed away in 2021, Lady Pamela became the last living great-grandchild of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Lady Pamela became the oldest living descendant of Queen Victoria. She attended the Queen's state funeral on 19 September 2022 with her daughter, India Hicks.
Awards and Recognition
- 2 June 1953: She received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
- 5 December 1978: She became a Serving Sister of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.
Lady Pamela in Film and TV
Lady Pamela Hicks has been shown in several productions:
- In 2016, she was portrayed in the first season of the TV series The Crown.
- In the 2017 film Viceroy's House, she was played by Lily Travers.
Images for kids
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Hicks in 1947
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Queen Elizabeth II and her lady-in-waiting Lady Pamela Mountbatten arrive at a Women's Reception at Brisbane City Hall, 1954.
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Lady Pamela with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in India (June 1948)
See also
In Spanish: Pamela Mountbatten para niños
