A close friend and relative of the royal family has received a call from Buckingham Palace to say that she sadly will not be invited to King Charles' coronation, her daughter revealed on Wednesday.
India Hicks, whose mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, was one of Queen Elizabeth II's bridesmaids and one of her ladies-in-waiting as well as a first cousin of Prince Philip, will instead be watching from home.
Taking to Instagram to mark her mum's birthday, India shared the behind-the-scenes details of finding out that Lady Pamela wasn't invited – and why she has no hard feelings about the situation.
Alongside a smiling recent photo of the aristocrat and a black-and-white throwback which showed her with the late Queen, India wrote: "'There have just been two spam calls. Someone keeps saying it's Buckingham Palace calling' said my daughter Domino firmly hanging up the phone again.
"'Ah, it probably is Buckingham Palace' I said. Since my mother’s hearing had become just a bit more unreliable, I had become her human hearing aid, most of her friends knew to call me if there was something important to be conveyed.
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"One of the King’s personal secretaries was passing on a message from the King. They explained that this coronation was to be very different to the Queen's. 8,000 guests would be whittled down to 1,000 alleviating the burden on the state.
"The King was sending his great love and apologies, he was offending many family and friends with the reduced list. My mother was not offended at all. 'How very, very sensible' she said. Invitations based on meritocracy not aristocracy. I am going to follow with great interest the events of this new reign.'… Happy Birthday to my darling Mum."
Lady Pamela isn't the only one of the royal family's family and friends to not be invited to the event. Sarah, Duchess of York didn't receive an invitation, it was recently revealed, and nor did King Charles' former brother-in-law, Charles Spencer.
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