Noor Inayat Khan’s Husband: Was She Ever Married?
During my research and public talks I’ve given into the life and times of Noor Inayat Khan, the SOE agent trained in Beaulieu, I’ve noticed a theme that often pops up, and that’s related to her love life. Some will ask whether she was ever married and had a husband.
To be clear, Noor Inayat Khan never married. She didn’t have a husband. But she nearly did, as I will explain in this article.
As you will likely know, Noor Inayat Khan was executed in September 1944 at Dachau Concentration Camp at the age of 30. She had served as a wireless operator for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in occupied France.
Whilst Noor Inayat Khan never had a husband, she was engaged during the 1930s. The story of that engagement adds an important human dimension to her life, including her later connection to Beaulieu village in the New Forest.
Noor Inayat Khan did not have a husband.
There is no record of marriage before her death in 1944.
But what she did have was a fiancé: Azeem Goldenberg.
Noor Inayat Khan and Azeem Goldenberg
During Noor’s studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris in the early 1930s, Noor became romantically involved with Azeem Goldenberg (sometimes spelled Goldberger, or Goldberg).
Goldenberg was a Jewish pianist studying under Nadia Boulanger with Noor. Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979) was a French music educator, conductor, and composer who acted as a tutor to the pair in Paris. Boulanger is widely regarded as the most influential music teacher of the 20th century.
With regards to Azeem Goldenberg, historical accounts vary slightly regarding his origins:
- Shrabani Basu, the author of ‘Spy Princess’ describes him as a Romanian Jew from a working-class background living in Paris.
- Claire Ray Harper, Noor’s sister, refers to him as a Turkish Jew.
What is certain is that they met as music students and became engaged.
According to Claire Ray Harper in her book ‘We Rubies Four’, Noor and Goldenberg were involved between 1934 and 1940 and were engaged to be married.
Noor’s Letters to Azeem
The strongest evidence of their engagement comes from Noor’s unpublished letters to Azeem, written circa 1934 and preserved in the Claire Ray Harper Collection.
In one letter she wrote in French, as she was living in Suresnes, Paris at the time:
“Si je ne fais pas l’harmonie avec Nadia Boulanger, je te promets que je le ferai avec toi, et au fond je préfère la faire avec toi.”
Translated as:
“If I cannot be in harmony with Nadia Boulanger, I promise I will be so with you – and truthfully I prefer to be so with you.”
In another, she refers to him as:
“mon illustre fiancé” – “my illustrious fiancé.”
The letters show intellectual companionship as well as affection. She discussed her histoires orientales, her literary ambitions, and her devotion to her father’s Sufi teachings.
This was not a fleeting romance, it was very serious, and retrospectively appears as if the two were on the road to being married, becoming husband and wife.
Family Reservations and the Outbreak of War
Jean Overton Fuller, a friend of Noor Inayat Khan, records that the engagement was “never recognized by her family, who considered the match unsuitable,” although it continued unofficially for several years.
Author Shrabani Basu, however, notes that Noor’s brother Vilayat later stated Goldenberg had been initiated into the Sufi fold and spent time at the family home in Suresnes.
Claire Ray Harper suggests the relationship ultimately ended because of the outbreak of war.
When Germany invaded France in 1940, Noor fled to England with her family.
The engagement ended.
Did Noor’s Family Oppose the Engagement?
One of the more sensitive aspects of Noor Inayat Khan’s relationship with Azeem Goldenberg concerns whether her family approved of the match.
Jean Overton Fuller records that the engagement was “never recognized by her family,” who reportedly considered Goldenberg unsuitable. She does not elaborate in detail, but the implication is that there were reservations about his background and circumstances.
Shrabani Basu, however, presents a more nuanced picture. She notes that Noor’s brother, Vilayat Inayat Khan, later stated that Goldenberg had been initiated into the Sufi order and had spent time at the family home in Suresnes. This suggests at least some level of acceptance – or at the very least, tolerance.
Claire Ray Harper’s memoirs do not suggest open hostility, but they do make clear that the engagement remained unofficial.
So, what might have concerned the family?
We cannot know for certain. It may have been cultural differences. It may have been economic circumstances. It may have been personal reservations. Noor came from a spiritually significant Sufi lineage connected to Indian royalty; she was the great great granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore.
Goldenberg, by most accounts, came from a modest working-class Jewish background in Europe.
What is clear is this: the relationship endured for several years, despite any lack of formal recognition.
And ultimately, it was likely the war, rather then family opposition, that brought it to an end.
From Paris to the New Forest: Beaulieu and SOE Training
After arriving in Britain, Noor joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and was later recruited into the Special Operations Executive.
As part of her preparation for clandestine service in occupied France, she underwent elements of her training at Beaulieu in the New Forest where the SOE established one of its principal finishing schools for agents destined for Europe.
At Beaulieu Estate, agents were trained in security, sabotage techniques, resistance protocols, and survival skills before deployment.
It is a striking contrast.
Only a few years earlier, Noor had been writing letters about harmony, music, and potential marriage in Paris.
By 1943 she was preparing, in the New Forest, to return to occupied France as a wireless operator under the codename “Madeleine”, one of the most dangerous assignments in the Resistance.
Sadly, Noor Inayat Khan would never marry and have a husband.
Instead, she would be arrested in October 1943, held in solitary confinement, transferred to Germany, and executed in September 1944 at Dachau Concentration Camp.
Watch: Noor Inayat Khan’s SOE Training at Beaulieu
I recently made a short film about Noor’s training at Beaulieu in the New Forest, where SOE prepared agents for deployment into occupied Europe. The Estate became one of the most important finishing schools for secret agents during the war.
You can watch that film below or click to watch direct on YouTube: Noor Inayat Khan: The Spy Who Learned to Vanish in Beaulieu.
The Truth About Noor Inayat Khan Having a Husband
Noor Inayat Khan never married, and she never had a husband.
She was engaged in the 1930s to Azeem Goldenberg, a Jewish pianist she met in Paris. Surviving correspondence confirms that their relationship was serious and affectionate.
Sadly, as it did for many, the war ended that future.
Soon after, her path led through England, to SOE training at Beaulieu in the New Forest, and ultimately back to France on a mission from which she would not return.
References
- Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, pp. 23–24.
- Claire Ray Harper and David Ray Harper, *We Rubies Four: The Memoirs of Claire Ray Harper* (Omega Publications, 2011), pp. 168–182.
- Noor Inayat Khan, “Unpublished Letters to Azeem Goldenberg” (circa 1934), Claire Ray Harper Collection, Document 134.
- Ibid., correspondence referencing “mon illustre fiancé.”
- Curtis, Lara. *Dissertation on Noor Inayat Khan* (Nov 27), citing unpublished letters, Claire Ray Harper Collection.
- Noor-Un-Nisa Inayat Khan (Madeleine), pp. 51–52.
