Prince Philip's cousin shares rare photograph of late Duke as she bids heartfelt farewell

Prince Philip's cousin, Lady Pamela Hicks, shared a rare photograph of the late Duke of Edinburgh as she paid tribute to him following his death.

• Following the news of Prince Philip's death (opens in new tab) on Friday, Lady Pamela Hicks paid a touching tribute to her cousin.
• Lady Hicks paid her respects to a 'unique man in every way' by having her daughter, India Hicks, post a special photo and message on Instagram.
• In other royal news (opens in new tab), the sad way the Queen spent her first Sunday without Prince Philip (opens in new tab) has been revealed.

Lady Pamela, 91, has a long history of friendship with the royal family. She is Queen Victoria's great-great-granddaughter and Lord Louis Mountbatten's daughter, making her Prince Philip's cousin and the Queen's second cousin. Yes, the Queen and Philip were related (opens in new tab).

A heartfelt message was posted on her daughter India Hicks' Instagram page, along with a rare black and white photo of Prince Philip, whose funeral is set to take place on Saturday.

'A unique man in every way. There was nobody quite like him,' India wrote beside the image, confirming that they were her mother's words following the news of Philip's death.

India included an excerpt from Lady Pamela's book Daughter Of Empire, in which she praised Prince Philip and referred to him as an "inspiration".

'That summer (1938), Cousin Philip always came over to visit, which was always good fun," read the extract. "He was my first cousin, the son of Princess Alice of Greece, my father's sister. Eight years older than me, he was the inspiration behind all the naughty, boisterous games we played, including vicious bicycle polo matches with my father,' she penned.

Lady Pamela is not only a member of the royal family, but she is also one of the monarch's dearest friends.

Pamela was a bridesmaid for Her Majesty in 1947 before becoming her lady-in-waiting.

Lady Pamela is the wife of David Nightingale Hicks, an interior designer who died in 1998. The couple had been together for a long time. Princess Anne was one of the bridesmaids at their wedding in 1960.

Lady Pamela and David had three children: Edwina Victoria Hicks, Ashley Louis David Hicks, and India Amanda Caroline Hicks.