Barbara Cartland

In 1927, she married Alexander George McCorquodale, a British Army officer from Scotland. They had a daughter namely Raine McCorquodale whom she later claimed as the daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent.

In 1933, she divorced McCorquodale on charges of infidelity. Later, she married McCorquodale’s cousin Hugh McCorquodale, a former military officer. They had two sons - Ian and Glen McCorquodale.

She suffered from a poor physical and mental condition when in her mid-90s. She still remained busy with giving interviews and making preparations to launch her website.

Barbara Cartland, whose previous name was Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, was born in Birmingham, England as the eldest child of Major Bertram Cartland, a British army officer, and Mary Hamilton Scobell.

After the death of her father in World War I, her mother opened a dress shop in London to earn livelihood. She grew up with her two brothers whose names were Anthony and Ronald.

She studied at The Alice Ottley School in Worcester. Later, she attended Malvern Girls’ College. She was a student of Abbey House, an educational institution situated in Hampshire.

After finishing her education, she worked as a society reporter for “The Daily Express” in 1920. She published her first novel “Jig-Saw” in 1922. A risqu� society thriller, it became a bestseller within a short period.

The Lord Chamberline’s office banned her novel “Blood Money” that appeared in 1926. During the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, she acted as the Chief Lady Welfare Officer in Bedfordshire whose job included looking after 20,000 service men and women.

She became the recipient of the Certificate of Merit from Eastern Command. She was invested at Buckingham Palace as a Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1953.

After her election as a councillor on Hertfordshire County Council in 1955, she crusaded for the rights of gypsies. For this purpose, she supported the idea of having a permanent place for them to live. As a result of her strong campaign, an act was passed in Parliament.

In 1964, she opened one of the gypsy camps namely Barbaraville. As a result of this, a number of gypsy families got a place to live and it ensured the education of their children in the local area.

She wrote her first novel “Jig-Saw” in 1922. It is a vivid account of the difficulty that a young girl faced on her first entry into the rich society of London. The story describes the journey of this girl from an adventurous life towards peace and happiness.