India Hicks, Princess Diana's Bridesmaid, Explains How She Handled Di's 25-Foot-Long Train (VIDEO)

Barbara Walters hit "Good Morning America" on Monday to give a preview of "A Special of Edition of 20/20: William & Catherine: A Modern Fairytale," set to air April 18 at 10 p.m. on ABC.

She shared two clips: one of a young William mesmerized by a video camera (and Charles subsequently telling him the people are "trapped" inside...thanks, dad) and another segment with India Hicks, who was one of Princess Diana's bridesmaids at her 1981 wedding. Hicks, 13 years old at the time, was asked to be part of the wedding party by her godfather, one Prince Charles.

Hicks recalled that Diana "turned up in a pair of jeans and I have a lasting impression of Diana with a diamond tiara on her head, dressed in jeans below, while they fitted her tiara to see what it would look like." She added that Diana was watching T.V. while getting ready -- "She was very intrigued by it. For her, it was so new to see herself on television, can you imagine? Her whole life going before her eyes. And she kept pushing everybody out of the way. 'Move,' she'd say."

One of Hicks' duties was to manage the Diana's 25-foot-long train, which had been totally crumpled during the carriage ride to St. Paul's Cathedral. When asked if she was terrified, Hicks remarked, "It was more that I had a job to do and the job wasn't going right. She was sympathetic with the job we had to do and turned around and said, 'Just do your best.'"

***For more royal wedding news, visit our Royal Wedding page.***

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Comments

[Angie Daniels]

11:44 PM on 04/20/2011

She was a class act. Let's hope Kate and William fare better.

[khg1]

04:15 PM on 04/19/2011

It was a train-wreck! LOL!

[SonyaInTx]

09:17 AM on 04/19/2011

I was up at 5AM to watch the wedding festivities......and when Diana climbed out of that glass coach, I remember thinking, "Yikes, she's wrinkled beyond belief".......

You would think the designers would know better about the characteristics of fabric and how well it can stand up to a ride to the church....

Oh well.....

[francesk]

01:11 AM on 04/19/2011

India Hicks has been profitting of her 15 minutes of non-fame since Diana's wedding...who cares what she has to say...irrelevant

[dozaa]

12:55 AM on 04/19/2011

Ugh, Barbara Walters is hideous.

[Kittenesque]

07:27 PM on 04/18/2011

I saw a documentary of Diana where to watched out for even the photographers who made her life a living hell in the early days. They were badgering her with questions and the photographer was about to run backwards into a pole and she called out a warning. A true princess. No one can come close. Ever.

[Miss Nancy Astor]

12:17 AM on 04/19/2011

She passed all her goodness on to her beloved sons.

[Sam19558383929293323464]

06:19 PM on 04/18/2011

Thank you news media for devoting so much airtime to the royal wedding so that we won't have to hear about those pesky things that actually have bearing on our lives.

[mssreader]

12:22 AM on 04/19/2011

It does help.

[nana4g]

06:04 PM on 04/18/2011

I liked that "crumpled look" and the designer must have also, otherwise she would not have chosen that material, I think.

I, too, feel a bit sad, that Diana, the Mother of Prince William, is not here. She was far too young for all of it and did not receive the assistance and support she should have had, from the beginning. There have been comments in the British press that she was not a compliment to Charles but a competitor....she did learn early on that she could not rely upon him for pretty much anything and early on he seemed to resent the public's affection for her. In the end, she had to become her own person, without him or the rest of the family, including her own. Neither of her two sisters, nor her own mother, accompanied to dress fittings for the gown, I have read; she showed up alone. She was raised in and wedded into groups of people entirely too self centered, which is why, I think, she had such enormous compassion for people. She would be proud and happy of the "spunk" William and his Catherine embrace.

[Absolon]

06:16 AM on 04/21/2011

Only 36. Her death is still a tragedy. (shakin' my head somberly.)

[Jazmo]

05:20 PM on 04/18/2011

It made me a little sad today, thinking how young Diana was when she died and that she should be here for the wedding. Then I felt old, realizing I'd seen her wedding on tv and would soon be seeing her son's!

[LLisaLL]

09:19 PM on 04/18/2011

I was at university subletting an apartment with friends for the summer. We all got up and watched the wedding. At the time, I didn't think how historic it was. Years later in South Africa I remember my husband waking me up one morning to quickly come to the TV to watch the non-stop news about the accident and her death. It's funny how you remember where you were when certain events happened.

[Jazmo]

07:31 AM on 04/19/2011

And her funeral. Incredibly heartbreaking, that card sitting on the casket amongst the flowers.

[riverhouse]

05:09 PM on 04/18/2011

There will never be another Diana. She was extraordinary.

[Fetus]

04:33 PM on 04/18/2011

Sad that those bridesmaids were forced to pull that train on that most elegant of all royal occaisions.

[alsm9]

03:36 PM on 04/18/2011

I'm looking forward to this, I love a good event! It's a nice change from all the bad news we get bombarded with day in, day out. But I really wish they wouldn't call this wedding "A Modern Day Fairytale". Can't stand media BS like this. That's what they called his Mom and Dad's and we all know it wasn't even close to a fairytale anything.

[mairs]

04:23 PM on 04/18/2011

Maybe this marriage, one between two people who actually love each other, will make up for that one.

[Absolon]

06:19 AM on 04/21/2011

I fear it is again a matter of she who loves him more than he loves she. I'll be relieved to be proven wrong.

[wolfiegirl]

03:05 PM on 04/18/2011

That's one thing I've read about Diana - I've never heard of her being rude or arrogant with anyone.

[Kellybelle22]

03:55 PM on 04/18/2011

I think I've read everything legitimate ever written about her. Tina Brown's The Diana Chronicles is, I think, the best.

Diana was unfailingly polite. This was something that was true of her since her childhood. She was polite, unstuffy, and self-effacing. And those who played hostess to her or gave her gifts always received lovely hand-written thank-you notes in timely fashion. She was a true aristocrat and behaved as such.

[Absolon]

06:20 AM on 04/21/2011

Tina Brown is a t w a t. And a MEAN one at that.

[thelipstickfemme]

02:08 PM on 04/18/2011

I heard that Diana hated the train and long veil because the veil was so heavy it hurt her head because her tiara had to be pinned down so tight on her head.

[Jazmo]

05:21 PM on 04/18/2011

That certainly makes sense.

[naschkatze]

12:12 PM on 04/18/2011

I forgot that the bridesmaids also wore white. That was a beautiful look.

[wolfiegirl]

03:04 PM on 04/18/2011

Princess Victoria of Sweden, who got married last summer, also had her bridesmaids entirely in white. All of the dresses were much simpler. It was a stunning look.

[agness nutter]

11:29 PM on 04/18/2011

Sarah Chatto's was the same. It looks brilliant, I agree.