King Charles's Goddaughter India Hicks Shares the "Extraordinary" Detail She'll "Never Forget" About Queen Elizabeth's Funeral
Hicks, whose mother was a bridesmaid in the late Queen's wedding, recalls what stood out about Elizabeth's 2022 memorial.
Although she’s not a member of the Royal Family, India Hicks has grown up in royal circles her entire life as a goddaughter of King Charles and the daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks, one of Queen Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting. India, who lost her mother in June, recently sat down with the Telegraph to discuss her new book, but she also revealed some of her touching memories of royal events.
“I do feel we are saying goodbye to an amazing generation,” Hicks said of her mother and the late Queen. “They lived through a war and were so much tougher than us and much less spoilt. There’s so much to admire in them.”
Reflecting on Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, Hicks said one thing that stands out the most is how the public’s floral tributes were included in the event. “As my mother and I descended the coach that took us from the Westminster Abbey service to Windsor, we were both hit by the most extraordinary smell of the floral tributes,” she told the publication. “It’s something I will never forget.”
Flowers from the public line the Long Walk in Windsor as Queen Elizabeth's coffin travels to her final resting place.
India Hicks walks behind her mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, at Queen Elizabeth's funeral.
Bouquets left to honor the late Queen were moved to line the Long Walk in Windsor as her casket traveled by car along the route to Windsor Castle, and Hicks noted, “It was such a wonderful touch that the flowers sent by her people were moved so they were there at the centre of everything.”
Another royal memory the author shared was a souvenir she received from King Charles and Queen Camilla’s 2005 wedding. “It was just this little memento that was incredibly moving,” she said, explaining she received a slice of wedding cake in a beautifully designed tin.
On the topic of design, Hicks—who served as a bridesmaid at Princess Diana and Prince Charles's wedding—is launching her latest book, India Hicks: Entertaining, With a Side of Chaos, this September. Focused on hosting in a busy world, the title aims to be less “perfection-oriented” than her last entertaining book, released seven years ago.
India says that “in the intervening years” since her last book, “life has got more chaotic and frantic—for me and everyone else, I think—and I’ve realised that with entertaining, it doesn’t have to be perfect. I want people to look at this and breathe a sigh of relief and realise this is manageable.”
