Diana’s bridesmaid finally ties the knot to father of her five children after 26 years
India Hicks, goddaughter of Prince Charles, marries David Flint Wood in a star-studded ceremony
IT has taken 26 years, five children and the small matter of a pandemic to get here. Yesterday, India Hicks and her partner, David Flint Wood, finally married with their five children and the toast of high society by their side.
As the mother-of-the-bride, Lady Pamela Hicks, looked on, the couple said their vows at Brightwell Baldwin parish church in Oxfordshire, where the new Mrs Flint Wood was christened and where her father, David, is buried.
The reception was held at the Lord Nelson pub opposite.
Mrs Flint Wood, the Prince of Wales’s goddaughter and one of the bridesmaids at his wedding to Diana, Princess of Wales, wore a long-sleeved, highnecked lace gown by Emilia Wickstead, and was accompanied by her own daughter Domino as chief bridesmaid.
Aged 54, she finally agreed to marry Mr Flint Wood after a quarter of a century together, despite having turned down his proposal in their early relationship preferring to be a “fiercely independent woman”.
Their engagement was announced in The Daily Telegraph on Nov 28 2020, but the small ceremony they had iniding. tially planned was pushed back to allow for more guests and suitable celebrations under Covid-19 lockdown rules.
“Five children and 25 years later!” she wrote of their engagement on her Instagram page. “We quietly decided a few months ago. A celebration of unflinching love. Until death do us part.”
Mrs Flint Wood, the granddaughter of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, lives with her family in the Bahamas, but travelled to Oxfordshire for the wedLady Pamela, herself one of the Queen’s bridesmaids, was able to attend, although the Prince of Wales, who was undertaking public engagements in Scotland, was not among the limited number of guests.
Photographs from the church show the beaming bride and groom surrounded by friends, including the television presenter Kirstie Allsopp; the model Sophie Dahl and her husband Jamie Cullum, the pianist; and actress Brooke Shields.
Mrs Flint Wood had previously shared glimpses of her wedding plans to her social media followers, including a seating plan for 100 guests in a large marquee adorned with greenery.
The wedding photographer would be David Loftus, she said, who took pictures of the couple as their romance blossomed 25 years ago. “Neither of us have ever been married before so we are both quite excited,” she said, relaying how her youngest child, 13-year-old Domino, told her teacher about the family news. “‘My mother is getting married’ Domino was telling her teacher,” she described. “‘How lovely, who is she marrying?’ the teacher asked. ‘My father’ came the reply.”
The newlyweds had to postpone what they had originally conceived as a “tiny” winter wedding, as the “romance did slip slightly away” once they were confronted with Covid-19 rules including no hymns hummed by the congregation.
Mr Flint Wood, a 60-year-old former Saatchi & Saatchi executive, and his new wife celebrated with their five children: Felix, 24, their adopted son Wesley, 24, Amory, 22, Conrad, 18, and Domino.