Once I was a Princess was published in the aftermath of the 1992 incident whereby Jacqueline Pascarl's children were spirited away from her by her ex-husband, a minor prince who is a member of the royal family from the Malaysian state, Terengganu. The incident threatened to spark an international incident when the Australian
Government unsuccessfully tried to force Malaysia's hand in extraditing to prince to Australia to face "kidnapping charges".
I bought this book at Grace Brothers Sydney ( now known as Myers) in November 1995 before I went back to Malaysia for good after completing my tertiary education in Australia. I found the book extremely fascinating and was unable to put it down during the 8 hour flight back to Malaysia. Suffice to say, I managed to finish the entire book before seat belt signs went up signaling it was now time to land. As it the book was banned in Malaysia then, I was lucky that the Malaysian customs did not check my luggage or confiscate this book prior to my exit from the airport.
The book nonetheless, is not focused on the incident but rather Jacqueline's life from the time she was born until the fateful day when her children disappeared with their father, never to be seen again until 2 years ago when the children, now adults were reunited with their mother. Jaqueline's descriptions of the various events that took place in her life during the period mentioned in the book were riveting and at times heart wrenching. The book begins with her journey into a difficult and unstable childhood marred by the absence of a Malaysian father who left her mother soon after she was born, an invalid mother who was never there for her ( and who was probably suffering manic depression and bipolar at the same time) but yet chastised and treated her more like a peer. She grew up quickly during this period and by the age of 8, was handed down adult responsibilities like grocery shopping, paying the bills and preparing meals for her and her mother. The only bright spark in her life at this point was her beloved nana who served as a guiding light during this tumultuous period. Upon completing high school at 16, she emancipated herself from her mother, took up a series of part time jobs with various Malaysian agencies in Melbourne at that time which made her sufficiently financially independent. It was during this period that she was swept off her feet by the charming Prince whose darker side has yet to emerge at this point in time. Naive as she was, she was captivated by him and before long married him in 1981 at the tender age of 17. Come to think of it - 1981 was a bad year for royals to get hitched. Remember Charles and Diana's disastrous marriage which ended acrimoniously. Prophetically, Jacqueline's marriage to the Prince will follow the same conclusion. After marriage and embracing Islam, Jaqueline was required to adjust to an isolated and repressive palace life in Terengganu as well as to the mood swings and erratic behaviour of her new husband. She was not allowed to socialise with anyone apart from family members and has to be accompanied whereever she goes. While she tried her very best to conform to the ways of life in Terengganu and in the process produce two healthy children, it became more and more apparent that her relationship with her husband was crumbling being made all the worse by his abusive nature and the fact that he had taken a second wife without her knowledge or consent. When her nana fell very ill and she was allowed to visit her in Melbourne, she took this opportunity to flee Malaysia with her children, never to return or set foot again in that country. After finalising her divorce and a lengthy and stressful custody battle in Australia's family courts, she was finally given sole physical custody of the children who were growing and adjusting well in Mebourne. These were happy times for her and her kids. There were parties, spending in the parks and rolling in the mud. Also, she finally remarried to a man who understands and appreciates her for who she is. All was well until the Prince who has visitation rights came to Australia in 1992 on a pretext to spend time with the children. Before she knew it, the children were gone and it was difficult to track or trace them as the Prince has cunningly devise an intricate route to take the children out of Australia and into Malaysia. As a mother myself, I can truly relate to her distraught and anger at the losing her young children in the worse possible way. Efforts to retrieve her children from Australia proved futile. She immersed herself in charity work and was able to carry on her life with the loving support of her family and friends. The book ends with the hope that she would one day be reunited with her children.
Verdict: Fascinating. I enjoyed Jacqueline's vivid and detailed descriptions of the various events that happened during this period of her life. I would recommend this book for those who enjoys a quiet afternoon curled up on a sofa with a good book and coffee.
My personal rating: 4 out of 5 stars
