What do we know about her before Wikileaks?

Now aged 29, Miss Manning had a troubled childhood – first in Oklahoma, then Wales.

Her parents were alcoholics, and Miss Manning was believed to have been born with fetal alcohol syndrome. She was fed baby food until the age of two, with her sister Casey, 11 years older, often looking after her.

Miss Manning was described in court as a lonely and isolated child, whose parents divorced when she was 12, leading her to attempt suicide.

She was bullied at school in the US and in Wales, where she lived from 2001-2005, and struggled with her sexual identity.

In October 2007, aged 19, Miss Manning joined the army, signing up at Fort Meade, near Baltimore.

She was evidently not physically or mentally suited to army life – slender, only 5’2” tall, and with deep-seated inner turmoil – and was discharged after six weeks, only for the army to then reconsider its decision.