Harry Potter author JK Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling and Anne Rowling (née Volant) in England in 1965. Her mother’s paternal grandfather was Frenchman Louis Volant. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre “for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War.”
[J.K. Rowling Dabbles In the Music Business]
Rowling thought her great grandfather had won the Légion d’honneur during the war, as she said when she was bestowed the honorary title of “knight” (they don’t do wizards) in the Légion by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009. Six years later, Rowling discovers the truth about Volant and the award during the genealogy TV show Who Do You Think You Are on August 2, 9pm on TLC.
