Socialite, 53, who was bridesmaid at Princess Diana’s wedding admits stealing £680 Max Mara coat

Prince Charles‘ goddaughter has admitted stealing a £680 designer coat from Harrods.

Socialite India Hicks, who was a bridesmaid at Princess Diana‘s wedding in 1981 and is 678th in line to the throne, stole the expensive Max Mara ladies’ coat from one of its luxury branches at Heathrow Airport in January.

The mother-of-five, who was born in London but moved to the Bahamas with long term partner David Flint Wood in 1996, was taken to court after being charged with theft.

Hicks, 53, pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was conditionally discharged for three months. She was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £22 victim surcharge.

Her address was given in court as Schenectady, a US city in New York state.

A spokesman for Hicks said she had been ‘absent-minded’ and had later returned the coat.

India Hicks, who was a bridesmaid at Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981, stole the expensive Max Mara ladies’ coat from one of Harrods’ luxury branches at Heathrow Airport in January

The mother-of-five, who was born in London but moved to the Bahamas with long term partner David Flint Wood in 1996, was taken to court after being charged with theft (back left, Hicks as a bridesmaid for Prince Charles and Princess Diana at their wedding in 1981)

They told The Sun: ‘The court accepted that at the time of taking the coat, India had simply been absent-minded and had not intended to leave without paying for it.

‘She was full of remorse for this mistake, and was discharged by the District Judge.’

Former fashion model Hicks is the daughter of Lady Pamela Mountbatten, a great-great-grandchild to Queen Victoria, and famed interior designer David Nightingale Hicks.

She is the granddaughter of Earl Mountbatten, the uncle to Prince Philip and second cousin once removed of the Queen, whose father George VI took over the throne when Edward abdicated.

Over recent months Hicks has shared a look at her glamorous life in lockdown in the Bahamas, boasting al fresco meals cooked by her children, painting and homeschooling in their airy library room, beach walks and family games by the beach. 

She and her long term partner share a sprawling white-washed villa – which boasts a pool and sea views – with their sons Felix, Amory, Conrad, and daughter Domino, and Wesley, who she adopted when he was 15, after his mother died.

In a 2016 interview with Business Insider, Hicks cited her grandmother – the last Vicereine of India Edwina Mountbatten- as her professional inspiration. 

Hicks stole a £680 Max Mara coat, but it is unclear if this is the exact style that was shoplifted 

India Hicks, who was a bridesmaid at Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981, stole the expensive Max Mara ladies’ coat from one of Harrods’ luxury branches at Heathrow Airport in January

Despite being extremely wealthy, Hicks has been labelled ‘unusual’ as one of the few British heiresses to earn their own income.

In 2015 she launched India Hicks Style, an e-commerce business which sells jewellery, accessories, make-up and homeware, with products ranging between £15 to £400 — but announced over the summer that it would be closing down.

Hicks has described Prince Charles as being a ‘caring, considerate and involved’ godfather. She was 13 and on holiday in the Bahamas when he asked her to be a bridesmaid.

Describing her preparation, she said: ‘But first, I had to practise. It was during these rehearsals that I got to know Diana, whom I first met at a dress fitting.

‘She always seemed more like a head girl than a ­princess-in-waiting, with never a shy moment in private.’

In a recent interview she also said she had kept the flower wreath from the wedding.

Hicks was educated at £40,000-a-year all-girls Gordonstoun School in Scotland.

She previously worked for Ralph Lauren and J Crew and is often featured in society magazine Tatler.