Queer Places:
St. Leonard's Churchyard
Sheepstor, West Devon Borough, Devon, England
Gladys
Milton Palmer, Dayang Muda of Sarawak, also known as Khair-ul-Nissa and Khair
un-nisa binti 'Abdu'llah (8 January 1884 – 12 June 1952) was a British film
producer and heiress. Through her marriage to Bertram Willes Dayrell Brooke,
she was a member of the ruling dynasty of Sarawak. For a while,
Kay Boyle
lived comfortably as the secretary to Palmer, heir to the Palmer biscuit
company fortune and at the time Princess or Dayang Muda of Sarawak. Boyle,
however, was drawn to a commune outside Paris in Neuilly organized by Raymond
Duncan, brother of Isadora Duncan and
later she started a relationship with
Caresse Crosby.
Palmer was born on 8 January 1884 into a prominent Quaker family. She was
the only child of Sir Walter Palmer, 1st Baronet and Jean Craig.[1]
Her paternal grandfather was George Palmer, a proprietor of Huntley & Palmers.
Her maternal grandfather was the engineer and politician William Young Craig.
She was a niece of George William Palmer and a great-niece of William Isaac
Palmer.
On 28 June 1904 Palmer married Bertram Willes Dayrell Brooke, the son of
Sir Charles Anthony Johnson-Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak and Margaret Alice Lili
de Windt. Through this marriage she became a member of the ruling dynasty of
the Raj of Sarawak. After her father-in-law died in 1917, her husband's older
brother, Charles Vyner Brooke, succeeded the throne. Her husband was made heir
presumptive and accorded the title Tuan Muda of Sarawak and style of
Highness. As the wife of the Tuan Muda, Palmer was accorded the title
Dayang Muda and the style of Highness.[2]
Palmer and Brooke had four children:
- Jean Margaret Palmer Brooke (d. 12 Sep 1970)
- Elizabeth Brooke (d. 8 Nov 1974)
- Anne Elaine Primula Brooke
- Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke (b. 10 Dec 1912, d. 2 Mar 2011)
In 1922 Palmer formed a film company called Big Four Famous Productions
Company. She produced one film, Potter's Clay which featured the
actress Dame Alice
Ellen Terry.[3]
In 1932 Palmer converted from Christianity to Islam. Stating that she
wished her "conversion to be performed on no earthly territory", she chartered
an Imperial Airways 42-seat airliner to fly from Croydon Airport to Paris.
Another British Muslim convert, Khalid Sheldrake, conducted the ceremony over
the English Channel.[4]
Sheldrake gave her the Arabic name "Khair-ul-Nissa" ("fairest of women")[4]
or "Khair un-nisa binti 'Abdu'llah".[3]
Palmer died on 12 June 1952 and was buried at St Leonard's in Sheepstor,
Devon.
My published books:
BBACK TO HOME PAGE
- hhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_Milton_Palmer
- http://www.thepeerage.com/p47587.htm
- The Cramoisy Queen: A Life of Caresse Crosby
Linda Hamalian
SIU Press, Apr 24, 2009