The burden of history for Lucan
If there is a downside – and I admit it’s not that much of a downside – a hereditary peer is always very much aware of the weight of history weighing down on his shoulders. For I wasn’t just Richard John Bingham, and nor was I just Lord Lucan – no, I was the 7th Earl of Lucan, and everything I did, for better or worse, would reflect not just on my ancestors but also my descendants. From as early as I can remember, I was aware that my every deed would be chalked up against the Lucan name. Do you know anyone else, apart from royalty, who is judged by the folly of their great-great-grandfather? Not a soul, I’ll wager. But for my entire life, I had always been pigeonholed in the same bracket as the poltroon who’d ordered the Charge of the Light Brigade.