Born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Wrexham, north-east Wales in 1943, Frankland moved to Lancashire, England, as a child. She took part in many beauty pageants and won the title of Miss Wales and, later in 1961 in London, she became (as Miss United Kingdom) the first British woman and the seventh European (Sweden won the two first contests, France won in 1953, Germany three years later, Finland in 1957 and the Netherlands in 1959) to win the Miss World competition. She also was the first runner-up at Miss Universe 1961.
