Private Life
In 1961, Jilly married Leo Cooper, a publisher of military history books. The couple have known each other since 1945 (when Jilly was about eight), although they did not marry until she was 24 and he was 27. Leo Cooper was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2002. In October 2010 Jilly suffered a minor stroke. The couple were unable to have children naturally. They adopted two children, Emily and Felix, now adults. They also have four grandchildren, Jago, Lysander, Acer and Scarlett, as well as a rescued cat, Feral, and a rescued greyhound, Feather. They live in an old house in the Cotswolds which they moved to in 1982.
Cooper was involved in the Ladbroke Grove rail crash. She was a passenger in one of the derailed carriages and had to crawl through a window to escape. She later spoke of feeling that her "number was up" and of being absurdly concerned, due to shock, about a manuscript she had been carrying.
Cooper lives in Bisley, near Stroud in Gloucestershire.
Cooper is a very strong supporter of the British Conservative Party.
Read more about this topic: Jilly Cooper
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