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Rare photo of bridesmaid dress worn at Charles and Diana's wedding surfaces

The royals were married at St Paul's Cathedral in July 1981

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Gemma Strong
Online Digital News Director
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With a renewed interest in Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage thanks to The Crown, a rare photo of one of the original bridesmaid dresses has surfaced online. The royals were married at St Paul's Cathedral in July 1981, and were served by seven bridal attendants – including the then-13-year-old India Hicks, goddaughter of the groom.

MORE: Prince Philip's incredible wedding gift to the Queen revealed

This week India took to Instagram with a snapshot taken with her mother, Lady Pamela Hicks as she reflected on their shared royal connection – Lady Pamela, now 91, served as a bridesmaid at the Queen's wedding to Prince Philip in November 1947.

WATCH: Prince Charles and Princess Diana leave St Paul's Cathedral after their wedding

India, 53, wrote: "Lots of questions asking if my mother still has the dress she wore as a bridesmaid to the Queen. She does. See it here on the table in front of us. Next to the one I wore to Charles and Diana's wedding.

MORE: Princess Diana's wedding dress featured a secret detail

"Both dresses have travelled the world in exhibitions and been on display in Museums before coming home to chill for a bit."

india hicks royal bridesmaid dresses

The royal bridesmaid dresses belonging to India Hicks and her mother

Interior designer India added a second photo, showing both bridesmaid dresses dressed hung side by side from the staircase.

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India has spoken in the past about her memories of the 1981 wedding day, revealing that it was her godfather, Prince Charles, who personally called to ask her to be a bridesmaid.

india hicks mother

Lady Pamela Hicks, 91, was a bridesmaid for the Queen

"It was during [wedding] rehearsals that I got to know Diana, whom I first met at a dress fitting," she previously told Harper's Bazaar. "She always seemed more like a head girl than a princess-in-waiting, with never a shy moment in private."

MORE: 9 incredible behind-the-scenes royal wedding photos

Of the wedding ceremony itself, she recalled: "I sat munchkinlike on a small red velvet stool, close to the king of Tonga. I only really remember my buttercup-yellow satin shoes pinching; they were a size too small.

india hicks princess diana wedding

India (left) alongside Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, Princess Margaret's daughter

"The bride's nerves showed only once, when she mixed up the prince's first and middle names—calling him Philip Charles, rather than Charles Philip. And then it was over."

MORE: Inside Princess Diana's private home at Kensington Palace

Of the reception, she added: "At last it was time for the wedding breakfast… As soon as the cake had been cut, Diana, her sisters, Sarah, the younger bridesmaids, and I disappeared upstairs to help her change into her pink going-away outfit, designed by David Sassoon of Bellville Sassoon.

princess diana bridesmaids

Seven bridal attendants took part in the 1981 wedding ceremony

"The mood was girly and giggly. Diana thanked us and gave us each a kiss and a present: a pretty gold-rimmed Halcyon Days china box. Inside were two of the silkworms that had spun the silk for her wedding dress…

"A few weeks later, a rose from Diana's bouquet arrived. It had been set in Perspex to act as a paperweight, with a note in her charming schoolgirl writing - all that remained of the historic day."

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