Lord Lucan family tree: A complete guide to Richard John Bingham’s blood line
THE Lucan family tree has become notorious over the years for a string of shocking scandals and events throughout its history.
The most famous member of the family is perhaps the 7th Earl Lucan, Richard John Bingham, whose murder of a nanny is explored in the BBC documentary Lucan.
The Earldom of Lucan’s origins
The Lucan family reportedly originated when James II made Patrick Sarsfield, one of the senior commanders overseeing battles in Ireland, in 1691.
However, since James II was disposed by Mary II and William III of Orange, this title is not recognised by UK law.
The first legal creation of the Earldom of Lucan took place in 1795 when Patrick’s nephew Charles Bingham became the 1st Baron Lucan.
There are two subsidiary titles associated with the Earldom of Lucan which are Baron Lucan of Castle Bar in the County of Mayo and Baron Bingham of Melcombe Bingham in the County of Dorset.
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The first is a Peerage of Ireland and the second is a Peerage of the United Kingdom.
The title became notorious with the 3rd Earl George Charles Bingham, who oversaw the botched Charge of the Light Brigade.
This was a military strategy in 1854, during the Crimean War, which resulted in British losses.
However, the name would become widely known because of the actions of the 7th Earl over one hundred years later.
Lord Lucan, 7th Earl of Lucan’s, parents
George Charles Patrick Bingham was the 6th Earl of Lucan who was born in 1898.
He was the maternal first cousin of Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer, the paternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The 6th Earl of Lucan was a second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards during the First World War and he was a colonel during the Second World War.
He also served under Clement Atlee (whose Labour government created the NHS) as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, the deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords.
He was also the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations.
The 6th Earl of Lucan married Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne Dawson, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.
Their children included:
- Lady Jane Bingham (born on October 13 1932)
- Richard John Bingham (born on December 1934 & disappeared in November 1974)
- Lady Sarah Bingham (born on September 5, 1936)
- Hon. Hugh Bingham (born on April 24, 1939, & died in July 2018)
The 6th Earl passed away on January 21, 1964, at the age of 65 which caused the earldom to pass onto his oldest son.
Unbeknownst to him, his son would soon make their title infamous across the United Kingdom.
Lord Lucan, 7th Earl of Lucan
Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, was born on December 18, 1934.
He was known for living a lavish lifestyle and his dashing good looks put him in the running to play 007 in the next Bond movie.
He was an avid gambler, a habit that he developed after winning a prize worth £26,000 while being on a salary of £500.
The win earned him the nickname Lucky Lucan.
This nickname would later become ironic because his gambling left him on the verge of bankruptcy.
He married a model named Veronica Duncan in 1963, which shocked Britain’s high-society because he had previously said that he would never talk to someone who “didn’t have proper shoelaces”.
This was a euphemism for being middle or working class.
They had three children together:
- Lady Frances Bingham (born in 1964)
- George Charles Bingham , 8th Earl of Lucan, (born on September 21, 1967)
- Lady Camila Bloch KC (born on June 30 1970)
Eventually, Veronica and the 7th Earl of Lucan divorced after ten years of marriage and Lady Lucan even suggested that her husband was abusive.
On November 7, 1974, Veronica was attacked in her basement by a man that she claimed was her ex-husband.
She managed to escape and a police search of the house found that he had also murdered the family’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, and he had hidden her in a sack.
Lord Lucan fled to the home of his aristocratic friends Susan and Ian Maxwell-Scott, with whom he stayed overnight.
Susan was the last person to see Lord Lucan alive, as he disappeared the following morning.
There are many theories as to where Lucan went, with some people claiming that he was hiding in Africa and others claiming that he had drowned himself in the English Channel.
Children
Lady Frances Bingham
Lady Frances Bingham was born in 1964, which meant she was ten-years-old when her father disappeared.
Very little is known about Lady Frances, but a police officer who worked on the 7th Earl of Lucan’s case opened up about meeting the then-ten-year-old.
She said: “She was a very intelligent, articulate little girl.
“She spoke clearly and precisely.
“There was a great deal of weight given to what she said because she gave a very good timeline from the programmes they had been watching, and clearly what she had seen was critical to the inquiry.
“I am pretty sure I drove straight back to London after the interview with the statement.
“I also had to read it out at the inquest.”
George Charles Bingham, 8th Earl of Lucan
George Charles Bingham was born on September 21, 1967, and he is the only son of the 7th Earl of Lucan.
He inherited the title of 8th Earl of Lucan when he requested his father’s death certificate in 2016.
He married Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard, the daughter of Danish industrialist Lars Foghsgaard, at St George’s, Hanover Square in 2016.
Lucan had two children with his wife named Lady Daphne, born in 2017, and Lord Bingham, born on 2020.
Lady Camilla Bloch KC
Lady Camilla Bloch KC, born on June 30 1970, is the youngest child of John Bingham and Veronica.
She is a member of the One Essex Court chambers and specialises in corporate and commercial law.
Lady Camilla married Michael Bloch KC at St Peter’s Church, Eton Square, and their three-page boys wore court dress at the wedding.
She had her first child in March 2002 and has four sons in total.
When her mother died from suicide in 2017, her will insisted that all of her money should go to Shelter because of her children’s “lack of good manners”.
Lady Camilla’s brother George said: “I applaud the decision”.
The Lucan Documentary
The 7th Earl of Lucan’s terrifying crime is explored in the BBC’s documentary series named after the aristocratic family.
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The three-part series kicked off on November 6, 2024, and follows Neil Berriman, Sandra Rivett’s son.
Neil didn’t know that he was the son of the murdered nanny until he turned 40, because he had been given up for adoption.