Earl of Lucan
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
which has been possessed by two related Irish families in creations of 1691 and 1795. The current holder is presumed to be Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan , popularly known as Lord Lucan, as Lord Bingham before 1964, and sometimes colloquially called "Lucky" Lucan, was a British peer, who disappeared in the early hours of 8 November 1974, following the murder of Sandra Rivett, his children's nanny, the previous...
, who vanished in 1974.
The subsidiary titles associated with the Earldom are: Baron Lucan, of Castlebar
Castlebar
Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
in the County of Mayo (created 1776), and Baron Bingham, of Melcombe Bingham in the County of Dorset (1934). The first is in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
, the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, and therefore allowed Earls of Lucan to sit in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
after the practice of electing representative peers from Ireland ceased. The Earl of Lucan also has a Baronetcy (of Castlebar, Co Mayo) created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia 7 June 1634.
In 1691, Patrick Sarsfield
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan
Patrick Sarsfield , created the first Earl of Lucan, Irish Jacobite and soldier, belonged to an Anglo-Norman family long settled in Ireland.-Background:...
, who had been one of King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
's senior Irish commanders during his battles in Ireland with William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
for the English, Scottish and Irish thrones (see Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
), was given the title of Earl of Lucan. Sarsfield's son James Sarsfield died without an heir in 1719 and the title became extinct.
Patrick Sarsfield's great nephew, Charles Bingham, had the title re-created in 1795. Since this is a new title, despite the family connection, Charles Bingham is (as usual) called the 1st Earl of Lucan (i.e. of that creation).
The title became notorious when George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, as cavalry commander in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, was one of the men involved in the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
.
Its notoriety was renewed after the disappearance in 1974 of the 7th Earl
Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan , popularly known as Lord Lucan, as Lord Bingham before 1964, and sometimes colloquially called "Lucky" Lucan, was a British peer, who disappeared in the early hours of 8 November 1974, following the murder of Sandra Rivett, his children's nanny, the previous...
. In June 1975, in his absence, a Coroner's Jury decided that Lord Lucan had murdered Mrs Sandra Rivett who at the time was his children's Nanny. Lord Lucan's son and heir can style himself Earl of Lucan but cannot take his seat in the House of Lords. He now uses the style Earl of Lucan and is the beneficiary of the Lucan Settled Estates. His father is now presumed to have died in November 1974 by most commentators. Lord Bingham petitioned to take his father's seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in 1999 but was refused by the Lord Chancellor. Whether the 7th earl is actually dead remains a mystery. The title is still vested in him.
Earls of Lucan; First creation (1691)
- Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of LucanPatrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of LucanPatrick Sarsfield , created the first Earl of Lucan, Irish Jacobite and soldier, belonged to an Anglo-Norman family long settled in Ireland.-Background:...
(d. 1693) - James Sarsfield, 2nd Earl of Lucan (1693–1718)
Bingham Baronets, of Castlebar (1634)
- Sir Henry Bingham, 1st BaronetSir Henry Bingham, 1st BaronetSir Henry Bingham, 1st Baronet was an Irish politician and baronet.Born at Milton Abbas, he was the son of Sir George Bingham, nephew of Sir Richard Bingham, and his wife Cicely Martin, daughter of Robert Martin. Bingham served as captain in the Irish Army. He was nominated High Sheriff of County...
(1573-c.1658) - Sir George Bingham, 2nd BaronetSir George Bingham, 2nd BaronetSir George Bingham, 2nd Baronet was an Irish politician and baronet.He was the only son of Sir Henry Bingham, 1st Baronet and his wife Catherine Byrne, daughter of John Byrne. In 1658, Bingham succeeded his father as baronet. He entered the Irish House of Commons for Castlebar in 1661,...
(c.1625-1682) - Sir Henry Bingham, 3rd BaronetSir Henry Bingham, 3rd BaronetSir Henry Bingham, 3rd Baronet was an Irish politician and baronet.He was the eldest son Sir George Bingham, 2nd Baronet and his first wife. In 1682, he succeeded his father as baronet. Bingham was educated at the Middle Temple. From 1682 he was Custos Rotulorum of Mayo...
(died c.1714) - Sir George Bingham, 4th Baronet (d. c.1730)
- Sir John Bingham, 5th BaronetSir John Bingham, 5th BaronetSir John Bingham, 5th Baronet was an Irish politician.He was the eldest son of Sir George Bingham, 4th Baronet, and his first wife wife Mary Scott. Bingham was educated at the Middle Temple. He was appointed High Sheriff of Mayo in 1721 and was Governor of County Mayo...
(c.1696-July 1749) - Sir John Bingham, 6th BaronetSir John Bingham, 6th BaronetSir John Bingham, 6th Baronet was an Irish politician and baronet.He was the oldest son of Sir John Bingham, 5th Baronet and his wife Anne Vesey, daughter of Agmondisham Vesey. In 1749, Bingham succeeded his father as baronet as well as Member of Parliament for Mayo, however died already a year...
(1730-10 October 1750) - Sir Charles Bingham, 7th BaronetCharles Bingham, 1st Earl of LucanCharles Bingham, 1st Earl of Lucan , known as Sir Charles Bingham, 7th Baronet from 1750 until 1776, was an Irish peer and politician.- Background :...
(1735–1799) (created Earl of Lucan in 1795)
Earls of Lucan; Second creation (1795)
- Charles Bingham, 1st Earl of LucanCharles Bingham, 1st Earl of LucanCharles Bingham, 1st Earl of Lucan , known as Sir Charles Bingham, 7th Baronet from 1750 until 1776, was an Irish peer and politician.- Background :...
(1735–1799) - Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of LucanRichard Bingham, 2nd Earl of LucanRichard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan , styled The Honourable from 1776 to 1795 and subsequently Lord Bingham until 1799, was an Irish peer and Tory politician.- Background :...
(1764–1839) (elected a Representative Peer in 1800) - George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan (1800–1888) (elected a Representative Peer in 1840)
- Charles George Bingham, 4th Earl of LucanCharles Bingham, 4th Earl of LucanCharles George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan KP , styled Lord Bingham from 1839 to 1888, was the eldest son of George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan and Lady Anne Brudenell. His maternal grandparents were Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan and Penelope Anne Cooke.He married Lady Cecilia Catherine...
(1830–1914) (elected a Representative Peer in 1889) - George Charles Bingham, 5th Earl of LucanGeorge Bingham, 5th Earl of LucanColonel George Charles Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan GCVO, KBE, CB, PC, TD, DL , known as Lord Bingham from 1888 to 1914, was a British Conservative politician....
(1860–1949) (elected a Representative Peer in 1914) - George Charles Patrick Bingham, 6th Earl of LucanGeorge Bingham, 6th Earl of LucanGeorge Charles Patrick Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan MC , known as Lord Bingham from 1914 to 1949, was a British peer, British soldier and Labour politician....
(1898–1964) - Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of LucanRichard Bingham, 7th Earl of LucanRichard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan , popularly known as Lord Lucan, as Lord Bingham before 1964, and sometimes colloquially called "Lucky" Lucan, was a British peer, who disappeared in the early hours of 8 November 1974, following the murder of Sandra Rivett, his children's nanny, the previous...
(b. 1934, missing since 1974, declared officially dead since 1999)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the seventh Earl's son George Charles Bingham, Lord Bingham
George Bingham, Lord Bingham
George Charles Bingham, Lord Bingham is a British peer, the only son of Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, and his wife, the Countess of Lucan, born Veronica Mary Duncan. He has two sisters: Lady Frances Bingham and Lady Camilla Bloch , a barrister who married QC Michael Bloch in 1998...
(b. 1967)