India Hicks Announces Son's Engagement Four Months After Mother's Death

India Hicks, goddaughter of King Charles, has announced the engagement of her son Wesley to his girlfriend Dylan Patterson. The news comes just four months after the death of Hicks's mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, who was a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II.

Hicks, 59, a former model and designer and a bridesmaid at the wedding of King Charles and Princess Diana, shared the engagement on Instagram. She posted a family portrait featuring Wesley and his fiancée Dylan, 28, writing, "What exciting news this week. Wesley got down on one knee (good lad) and asked his most wonderful girlfriend to marry him and thank God she said YES." She added, "How happy we are to have you join our family, Dylan. Here's to sharing all the happy times, and holding each other close through sad ones too."

Dylan commented on the post, stating, "Couldn't be more excited to not only have the best fiancé, but also the best future in-laws." Additional photos shared by Hicks show the couple together in a city setting and with family.

Wesley, a marine technician, is 29. He became Hicks's fifth child when she and her husband, businessman David Flint Wood, 65, fostered him after his biological mother died of breast cancer when he was eleven. Hicks has previously spoken about how Wesley became part of their family following the death of his mother, Lynne Cleare, in the Bahamas. Hicks met Lynne when they were both pregnant, and their sons grew up together. Following Lynne's funeral, his father asked Hicks to look after Wesley, and she became his legal guardian.

Hicks recalled that Wesley initially arrived with his belongings in a plastic bin liner and chose to sleep on a camp bed in her eldest son Felix's room for around five years, feeling more secure there. She described taking him in as a blessing and him as one of the greatest blessings of her life.

Dylan is a travel adviser who runs Pink Palmetto Travel Club, specializing in personalized holidays and luxury hotel stays. Originally from Florida, she is now based in New York and has a background in fashion marketing and project management.

Hicks's own mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, died in June at the age of 97. Lady Pamela was a longtime associate of Queen Elizabeth II, having served as a bridesmaid at the Queen's wedding and later as a lady-in-waiting. She accompanied Princess Elizabeth to Kenya in 1952 when she learned of King George VI's death and her own accession to the throne.

Buckingham Palace stated that King Charles was “greatly saddened” by Lady Pamela’s death and praised her "warmth, wit and perspicacity." Lady Pamela was a first cousin of Prince Philip and the daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten. India Hicks and her husband David were married in 2021 after more than 25 years together, with Lady Pamela and their five children in attendance.