Claire Carlsen is a British politician who served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, and is the Conservative MP for Box Hill.
Biography[]
Born in a working class family in north London, Carlsen and her two siblings grew up with an abusive father and a mother who was unable to stand up to him and was often quiet, trying to mask the extent of what the family dealt with. The day of his funeral, Carlsen burnt the family carpet which was associated heavily with his abuse.
After leaving home, she got married to Bjorn Carlsen, a wealthy Swedish businessman, and started hiding her true background. She arrived in Parliament as MP for Box Hill around 1995, at the same time as Geoffrey Booza-Pitt, who became known as her “parliamentary twin” due to their same age, same wealth, and the similar time they won their seats, and similar popularity at party conferences. During her time in Parliament, she had a long-lasting affair with Deputy Prime Minister Tom Makepeace, who was her mentor in her early days as an MP. She was appointed to Prime Minister Francis Urquhart's Cabinet as Parliamentary Private Secretary, and, due to Makepeace's firing and opposition to the Cabinet, Carlsen - still his lover - decided to assist him in sabotaging Urquhart. She played Urquhart and Makepeace against each other, and she stole an unedited report on Urquhart's killings of captured EOKA guerrillas from 1956 with the goal of giving it to Makepeace, intending on destroying her boss. Previously, Carlsen had even met with the niece of the two killed men, who was investigating her uncles' deaths to ease her father's suffering. However, the stolen file was retrieved by Urquhart's bodyguard, who later gave it to Makepeace to set in motion Urquhart's downfall. Carlsen's photocopy of the document was thus rejected by Makepeace, who was by then already in possession of the original, and Makepeace refused to give Carlsen a place in his new government, as he saw her as "pure poison" due to her association with Urquhart.
Behind the Scenes[]
Personality[]
Carlsen was independent-minded, and refused to be seen as lesser because of her status as a woman. Because of this, she stood up easily to those who might patronise her, such as Roger Garlick in the novels. She was also known for having a sharp tongue, and did not hesitate to speak her mind.
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