King Charles faces a potential diary conflict as the funeral of Lady Pamela Hicks, one of the late Queen's closest friends, is scheduled for the same day as his official birthday parade, Trooping the Colour.
Trooping the Colour Details
The annual Trooping the Colour, featuring a spectacular military parade followed by a Buckingham Palace flypast, is set for Saturday. The King will be joined by all working members of his family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Lady Pamela Hicks' Funeral
Lady Pamela Hicks, who served as a bridesmaid for Elizabeth II at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, died at the age of 97 last week. Her funeral is scheduled for 3pm at a church in Oxfordshire, making it unclear if any royals can attend after Trooping the Colour ends at 1pm.
Royal Reaction
Upon news of her death, a spokesperson for the King stated that Charles was “greatly saddened” and described Lady Pamela as a woman whose “warmth, wit and perspicacity always made such an impression.”
Lady Pamela's Life
Born in April 1929, Lady Pamela was the youngest daughter of Lord Mountbatten and Edwina Ashley. She was one of eight bridesmaids at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947. Later, she became a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth and remained in the role when she became Queen in 1952.
In 1960, she married David Hicks in a society wedding where a young Princess Anne served as bridesmaid. The couple had three children: India, Edwina, and Ashley. Lady Pamela's father, Lord Mountbatten, was killed by an IRA bomb in 1979. She lost her husband to lung cancer in 1998.
Lady Pamela remained a lifelong friend of the late Queen and published several memoirs about her life with the Royal Family. After Elizabeth II's death in 2022, she became the oldest living descendant of Queen Victoria and attended the state funeral alongside her daughter India.
