A pleasure in terms of content and appearance

Lady Pamela was born in 1929 at the Ritz Hotel in Barcelona. Her mother thought that a vacation in Spain would do her good in the last weeks of her pregnancy and had her chauffeur drive her from Malaga in Spain to Barcelona. The journey over an infinite number of potholes (Spain was on the brink of civil war and holes in the road were not a priority) was more strenuous than expected.

As soon as she arrived at the Ritz, a doctor was called to give birth to Lady Pamela, as she is now known. She spent the first few days there in a small dog basket due to a lack of alternatives. She still loves dogs to this day.

The beginning of an exciting life in which Lady Pamela, known to insiders as Lady P., was able to observe historical events such as the partition of India into India and Pakistan from the front row. Her father was the last deputy to the King of England in India and led the negotiations for India’s independence in 1947.

She saw Nehru go in and out of the Indian palace and at home and sat in the front row at Gandhi’s prayers.

Extravagance paired with discipline

Lady Pamela’s parents, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, led an extravagant life and an open marriage. Service to England and voluntary work for numerous charities was a matter of course for them both.

Lord Mountbatten, an admiral in the British Navy, died in an IRA assassination attempt. The terrorist organization had planted explosives on his private boat, on which he went fishing on the Irish Sea on a bright late summer’s day accompanied by some of his grandchildren. Lady Pamela’s mother died in the jungles of Borneo while working for the aid organization St. Johns Ambulance.

Diary

Her father advised the young Lady Pamela to record the events of each day in a diary. These diaries form the basis of this book, which is a delight in terms of both content and appearance and also has a lot to offer lovers of British humor.

Throughout her life, Lady Pamela never parted with the many wonderful invitation cards she received: An invitation from the late Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted a concert at Windsor Castle to mark the birthday of the current King Charles III, invitations to garden parties, visits to the opera as well as breakfasts, lunches and dinners at Buckingham Palace. All these wonderfully classically designed invitation cards can be seen in this book together with numerous photos from the family’s albums.

Not just for fans of the British aristocracy

Prince Philip was a cousin of Lady Pamela and Lady Pamela had been asked by Queen Elizabeth II to take on the role of Lady in Waiting. Her task was to always be present at the Queen’s side, or rather behind her, and to support her. In this role, she accompanied the Queen on such occasions as on a world tour with state visits to the Commonwealth countries.

Familiar with dealing with guests on the royal stage, she was always at the monarch’s disposal and helped with all the small and large issues that a royal head has to deal with.

This requires familiarity with the customs of the British aristocracy, politics and internationality. As a little girl, Lady P. played with the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margret.

Her cousin, Prince Philip, gave her what was to become her life motto:

“Look up and out. Speak less. Do more”

She later married the interior designer David Hicks and, despite her extravagant lifestyle, remained a rather shy, withdrawn person who preferred books to parties.

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The ideal gift

We had already been familiar with Lady P.’s humor and elegance from her daughter’s Instagram channel for years when we were surprised with this book as a Christmas gift. And while we usually like to pass books on to second readers, we are happy to keep our copy and give this book as a gift to friends who are enthusiastic about history, the English royal family, style and nobility.

It is a book that you will want to pick up several times. While you are fascinated by the journey through life the first time you read it, the photographs, diary entries and illustrations of many invitation cards add interest.

A coffee-table book that is not only beautiful to look at, but also impresses with its content.

Her daughter, India Hicks, wanted this book to be a memorial to her mother, who was often overshadowed by her relatives and husband, and said in an interview when asked what the author personally took away as a lesson from her mother’s life “How to dedicate your life to duty and service to your country. Because duty and service are words that we no longer hear today.

India Hicks has accepted her mother’s legacy. The numerous followers on her Instagram channel not only see her at important events of the royal family, at work and at her home in the Bahamas, but also very often with the aid organization GEM (Global Empowerment Mission) in Ukraine, distributing relief supplies and trying to give comfort.

If you want to experience the style and charm of Lady P. in a video, you can do so in this video in which Lady P. talks about her godmother in the Swedish royal family.

Photographs © GloriousMe 2025