Princess Diana's Bridesmaid Gets Hitched Herself
India Hicks walks down the aisle for the first time at 54... hear about the wedding... plus, what she remembers about Princess Diana (it'll surprise you)
Ever meet someone and instantly feel like you’ve known them forever?
That’s how I felt the moment I laid eyes on India Hicks.
TBH, we’ve been following each other on Instagram for years, so we weren’t exactly strangers.
But we were IRL.
Which brings me to last week when India DMed me an invitation. She was in New York hosting a trunk show and would I pop by?
“Of course,” I said, “as long as I can interview you.”
So much ground to cover… her status as the queen of Harbour Island… her fascinating family history (yes, royalty)… getting married for the first time at 54… and what she remembers about Princess Diana's wedding. (It definitely will surprise you).
Get it? Thought so.
THE QUEEN OF HARBOUR ISLAND
ALINA CHO: Of course, the first thing anyone says when one goes to Harbour Island [in The Bahamas] is, "Do you know India Hicks?” And then, "You must go to her shop, The Sugar Mill.”
India Hicks outside The Sugar Mill, Harbour Island
INDIA HICKS: Next time, please come and have a cocktail.
ALINA CHO: Well, thank you. I will. I haven’t been to Harbour Island in years, but [The Sugar Mill] was always my favorite shop.
The Sugar Mill, interior
INDIA HICKS: And it's [located] where the sugar used to be ground, so it's a very historic building.
ALINA CHO: But you've got your hands in lots of things.
INDIA HICKS: I really do.
ALINA CHO: You're an author.
You're also a designer.
INDIA HICKS: Yes. I grew up under the imposing eye of my father, David Hicks.
David Hicks at home. Photo by Victor Watts
He was an extraordinary [interior] designer, and he really was ahead of his time. But having David Hicks as your father, you're very nervous to call your own self a designer. I was never formally trained. The DNA of design came from him, obviously, down the bloodline.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
INDIA HICKS: In actual fact, I modeled for a number of years.
And then found myself on Harbour Island, where I was sort-of reinventing myself. I had what I call a big-small business for six years [under my own name that] I put my heart and soul into, and then it didn't work for a number of different reasons. But now I'm coming back to design but designing a completely different way. I'm [collaborating] with smaller companies. Hester Bly.
Dresses by Hester Bly, India Hicks (center)
The brand is very small, and they only do very tiny, limited runs. I work with a company in England called Tusting. It's been in the same family for five generations. We do limited runs of handmade bags.
I work with Pomegranate [Inc]. We did their hand block printed Indian tabletop collection.
Again, limited runs. And I'm really liking that.
I like the collaborations, not just me and my name out there. And it’s nice to be back out and designing again.
ALINA CHO: What's better than that?
INDIA HICKS: Do something. But just don't stand there. Make sure your life is moving forward. I've never been so excited about life at the age of 54 than I was at 34 and now I have all this knowledge and this experience that I can use. So, life is very exciting at the moment.
HOW DID SHE END UP ON HARBOUR ISLAND IN THE FIRST PLACE?
ALINA CHO: I want to talk about your love story. You went to Harbour Island 26 years ago.
INDIA HICKS: That's right.
ALINA CHO: So, you were there on vacation?
INDIA HICKS: No. More complicated. David [Flint Wood], the father of all of [our] many, many children…
We had known each other since I was about 11. He was a friend of my older sisters.
ALINA CHO: That's right.
INDIA HICKS: So, I'd seen him around. And then we had a very brief flirtation in The Bahamas. A big charity dinner that was held in Nassau. And we kissed on the steps of Government House. Very romantic. And then I didn't see him again for nine years.
ALINA CHO: Wow.
INDIA HICKS: And then [all those years later], I had come back from a very difficult trip to New Zealand, and I took myself off to Windermere Island, which is a neighboring island to Harbour Island.
ALINA CHO: Yes.
INDIA HICKS: And my father had built a very amazing house there. And so, I was in the house completely alone recovering from this trip and somebody had reminded me that David Flint Wood was up on Harbour Island managing a small hotel. And I thought, "How intriguing. Maybe I'll go up and visit him." And I walked in, and David looked up and he said it was his Casablanca moment. "Of all the gin joints in all the world, you walk into mine."
David Flint Wood and India Hicks
ALINA CHO: That gives me the chills.
INDIA HICKS: Well, four months later, I was pregnant.
ALINA CHO: Ah!
INDIA HICKS: Yes, yes! It was very quick. And he said, "I think we better get married." And of course, I was a fiercely independent woman and I said, "No, I don't think we need to get married but let’s build a home and let's live here. Let's build a life together." And so, for 26 years we remained unmarried, and we took it one day at a time.
ALINA CHO: But I read that it was then you all these years later.
INDIA HICKS: That's exactly right.
ALINA CHO: And you said to David, what?
INDIA HICKS: Well, we came out of the first lockdown, and we'd been on the island together, all of the kids. I so recognize that for much of the world it was a very, very difficult time where people lost their jobs and were very nervous about the future. We luckily had space and sun. So, it was an amazing, magical time with my kids that I recognize I'll never get back again.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
INDIA HICKS: But when the lockdown finished, [the kids] range from the age of 24 down to 13 and they were a little knocked by it. They were asking questions. The world looked unstable. Life was turbulent. And so, I thought to myself, "Let's do something that will feel very reassuring for them. Why don't we get married?"
David Flint Wood and India Hicks on their wedding day, September 10, 2021
ALINA CHO: Did it ever occur to you that he might say, "You know what? I'm good."
INDIA HICKS: He did tease me with that. You're quite right. He said, "I still haven't accepted…
ALINA CHO: … that you said no all those years ago."
INDIA HICKS: Also, you know what I find particularly powerful for me is getting married for the first time at the age of 54.
ALINA CHO: Right. Right.
INDIA HICKS: It's unusual in itself, [and] you don't want to look ridiculous.
ALINA CHO: Your Emilia Wickstead dress…
India Hicks at a wedding dress fitting with designer Emilia Wickstead, far left, in black
INDIA HICKS: Oh, thank you.
ALINA CHO: Does marriage feel different?
INDIA HICKS: Yes. Do you know what? It does.
ALINA CHO: That’s what they say.
INDIA HICKS: Going into it, I thought, "It's nice to do it. To legalize it." But it has changed. I love calling David my husband. I love the fact that I have a ring on my finger. I'm not going to change my name. I can go so far but not quite that far. I do still want to be India Hicks. But I do also love making the joke of now I'm Mrs. Flint Wood.
AND THEN, THERE IS THAT OTHER (ROYAL) WEDDING…
ALINA CHO: You have such an extraordinary family history.
INDIA HICKS: Well, it's complicated because, of course, Queen [Elizabeth] and Prince Philip are, in fact, related. They're distant cousins.
ALINA CHO: Right.
INDIA HICKS: So, the family tree is very convoluted. My mother, [Lady Pamela Hicks] and Prince Philip are first cousins. But she is also a great, great granddaughter of Queen Victoria, as is the queen.
Lady Pamela Hicks, standing far left, behind Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, both seated
ALINA CHO: Right.
INDIA HICKS: So, my mother grew up with Prince Philip as a first cousin. And then I was lucky enough to have the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, as a godfather.
And he was a very, very diligent godfather. Very involved. Very kind. He then, of course, accumulated a number of godchildren. Now has quite a long list of them.
ALINA CHO: I'm sure he does.
INDIA HICKS: And as a result of that, I was invited to be Princess Diana's bridesmaid.
India Hicks, second bridesmaid from left, with Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth at Diana's wedding to Prince Charles, July 1981
ALINA CHO: How old were you?
INDIA HICKS: I was just eleven.
ALINA CHO: If you were eleven, you must have vivid memories.
INDIA HICKS: I do have very vivid memories.
ALINA CHO: What do you remember most?
INDIA HICKS: I remember the way she smelled, which is strange.
ALINA CHO: What did she smell like?
INDIA HICKS: She smelled of tea rose.
India Hicks, standing directly to the left of Prince Charles, at Charles and Diana's wedding, July 1981
ALINA CHO: Interesting.
INDIA HICKS: I remember being utterly disappointed after the wedding because there was a big, grand ball that was happening at Buckingham Palace. The queen was hosting, and I was to go to the ball, and I thought, "I'll just lie down for a minute to rest my eyes," and I was so tired that I didn't wake up and I missed the ball. Awful, dreadful as a child to have missed your first ball.
ALINA CHO: Oh my God.
INDIA HICKS: That bit I really resented. But looking back, I have to say it is fairly extraordinary to think I rode in a golden carriage. A horse-drawn, golden carriage.
ALINA CHO: I mean, India.
INDIA HICKS: Yeah, so that was fabulous.