How old was Claire in Outlander when she married Frank?

Outlander can be a little iffy with timelines at certain points, but how old was Claire when she married Frank? Did that affect her life and feelings?

While there are times that the timeline in Outlander is iffy (such as whether it was 1945 or 1946 in the beginning), there are plenty of times elements have remained consistent. One of those is when Claire married Frank, which will give an idea into her love for this man.

Claire was just 19 when she married Frank Randall. She says this in “Dragonfly in Amber,” the second novel of the series. While it’s not specifically mentioned in the show, we do at least get to see the unromantic wedding at the registry office.

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This was a time just before the war, in late-1937. Not quite the time that everyone was rushing into a marriage in case they were split up or one died, but at a time when marrying young was normal.

And this would have certainly affected Claire’s view of marriage, her love for Frank, and her continued love for him even after his death. He was her first love—even though she did have her first kiss at the age of eight. This was the man who accepted her for who she was, raised by her Uncle Lamb in some unusual circumstances for the time.

They weren’t married for long before they were separated by war. Being British, they would have been pulled into the war early, in 1939. Claire would have spent some time training to be a nurse before heading to the front line, while Frank would have been off with MI6. They wouldn’t have been able to communicate much, so they would have likely still been in that honeymoon phase.

Photo credit: Outlander/Starz Image acquired via Starz Media Room /

When they reunited, they were still like a newly married couple. They were figuring each other and themselves out after a time of war. It’s not surprising that Claire attempted to hold onto that love for Frank, knowing that she’d felt infatuated by others during the war.

We don’t know Frank’s exact age but he was about 12 years older than Claire. Raised through a slightly different time and a little more conventional, he would have had certain expectations—different from those of Jamie Fraser, who was a man on the run from the law.

By the time Claire married Jamie, she had more life experience. She was 28, and while she was in a time she didn’t know, she certainly knew her own mind more.

Next. 15 best Claire moments in Outlander Season 4. dark

Did you realize how young Claire was when she married Frank? Does this change the way you view their marriage? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Follow Claire and Jamie on Twitter for more updates and news about Outlander, both book and show.

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How old was Claire when she married Frank in Outlander?

By Alexandria Ingham | Sep 9, 2019

Outlander can be a little iffy with timelines at certain points, but how old was Claire when she married Frank? Did that affect her life and feelings?