Product Description

In 1980, Jacqueline Gillespie married Prince Raja Bahrin and was transported to Malaysia, where she was forced to suppress her intellect and endure physical brutality. She escaped to Australia with her children, only for them to be abducted by their father. This is her story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #658322 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
At the tender age of 17 Jacqueline Pascarl-Gillespie was whisked away to a marble palace in Malaysia by the dashing Prince Raja Bahrin. From the moment they married the charming, loving man she had fallen in love with in her native Australia turned into a cruel, uncaring horror who raped and beat her regularly while she, bearing the title of Princess Yasmin, was forced to suppress her intellect and maintain a public facade of aristocratic solidarity.

Following the birth of her two children, she returned to Australia, but far from walking toward freedom, she found herself enslaved again by a bitter custody battle which led to the eventual kidnapping of the children by Prince Raja Bahrin who returned them to Malaysia, where, seven years on, they still live without any contact with their mother. Once I was A Princess is 500 pages of almost unbearable pain. This harrowing autobiography of one woman who had to lose her own children before she truly found herself is not only a bitter account of a life of constant disappointment which begins as a child and builds to a death-defying crescendo in her adult life, but is also a story of love and passion so strong that a fight to the death seems almost inevitable.

A remarkable woman whose daily battle for her children has never lost momentum, Jacqueline has also found the courage to move on, setting up charities for children around the world and finding the strength to help other parents whose children have been taken from them. She is indeed a woman to be reckoned with. But behind the strength lies a sad, sad lady whose incredible past certainly makes for good reading, but is totally secondary to the fact that she is just a mother who, quite simply, wants her children back. --Susan Harrison

Customer Reviews

the most heart rendering book in history
Reading Once I Was A Princess was the most emotional journey I've ever been on. It compelled me to the core and I was deeply saddened by Jacquelines painstaking efforts to find her children. I desperately become so engulfed by the trauma that she was experiencing that I wish I could have had the power to do something to bring her some comfort. I could not put this book down, and certainly never got through a book as quickly as this, but still have not been able to find closure. I'm not even a mother but I was overcome with grief for her and the two children, I have real admiration and deep respect for Jacqueline who has learnt to keep fighting everyday.I hope and pray that wherever Iddin and Shah are that they are well and learn the real truth about their mother before its just too late.

A gripping story and a compulsive read.
I read 'Once I was a princess' after reading a couple of books by Jean P Sasson. This book however, turned out to be a book that made me read the Qu'ran (KORAN). It was unstoppable reading. I steamrolled through each chapter like a thriller then realised that it was after all a true story. The wooing of a 17 year old girl into marriage, robbing her of her identity and forcing her into Islamic practices. This book leaves no stone unturned. The author tells of the brutality, rape, sodomy and mental anguish at the hands of her royal spouse. This book is a must read and although it does not have closure it does leave room for hope.

Finally she gets to see her children
This book is excellent in everyway. The details of the suffering and the introduction of the malaysian royal family is well described. This book relates and introduces each chapter and story well. There are many small stories broken up in this one big story about a father kidnapping his children and the consequences on the mother and how she builds herself to handle the situation. Also to see what the mother goes through afterwards and other peoples reaction towards her, her rejection and the effects on other relationships is reflected well and very saddening.

In the book it was outlined that the children didn't like spending time with their father and when they were due to meet him they would make several excuses to avoid seeing him or spending the weekend with him.
What was interesting to see was that after 14 years the childeren have been reunited with their mother Uddin felt he has two homes now. Sarah has decided to live in Australia with her mother and she wants to make up for lost time. Also sarah and her mother have been in secret contact for over 3 years or so via email after sarah was able to track her mother down. It shows a happy ending to the story, but so many years have still been lost by the children and thier mother.

Also many people quoted as saying the mother was after the publicty and wasn't really interested in getting her children back. Also if she was found smiling in public while shopping people would say 'shes smiling she cant be sad'. This is the general publics misinterpretation of this story.


Very detailed. This gives courage to all mothers.