family background 137–8
feelings towards husband in later years 322–3
friendship with Rivett 195, 205, 275
hiring of Rivett as nanny 31
and husband’s gambling 137, 150, 159
inconsistencies in story given 363–9
injuries sustained at murder scene 222
interviewed by police after murder and statement given 34, 227–30
lifestyle 150, 151
loss of children 317–21
marriage 136–69 see also Lucan, 7th Earl of (Richard Bingham): Marriage
mental state 28, 29, 160–2, 164–6, 178, 183, 186, 318–19
nannies employed by 176, 192–3, 194–5
nature 143
News of the World interview 268–9, 363, 365
police sympathy and support for 150, 228, 280–1, 287
post-natal depression 28, 149, 160–1, 162–3
pre-marriage days 139–40
reaction to guilty verdict 317–18
refusal to see children after loss of custody to Shane Kydds 319–22
relationship with sister (Christina) 323
sacking of nanny (Lilian Jenkins) 169
selling of Lucan’s possessions 148
separation from Lucan 157, 169
view of by husband’s friends 27–8, 154–5, 156–7, 163–4, 167, 287, 364
view of by husband’s grandmother 138
visited by Elwes in hospital 285–6
visits to Clermont Club 27–8, 151, 152–3, 154–5
Lucan, Violet, Countess of (Lucan’s grandmother) 6, 67, 90, 138
Lucan earldom 53–68, 71
and Ireland 54–5, 57
memorial 63
selling off estates 65–6
Lucan house (Dublin) 55
Lucan murder case
Events
appearance of Veronica in pub covered with blood and admission to hospital 221–2, 231
attempt by Lucan to see Bill Shand Kydd after murder 253–4, 255
belief in Lucan’s innocence by family and friends 352–7
burglary theory 328–34
calls made to Florman and mother by Lucan 33, 37, 239
day before 211–12
escape of Lucan hypothesis 295–305
hitman theory 341–8, 369–70, 371–2
injuries sustained by Rivett 223–4, 338–9
injuries sustained by Veronica 222
letters sent to Bill Shand Kydd after murder 33, 251–3, 256, 310, 312, 313, 347
letters written to Stoop 256–8
Lucan’s actions after murder 237–41
Lucan’s actions on day of murder 32–3, 213–15, 357–61
lunch for Lucan’s friends after murder 283–4, 292
mailsack 32, 223, 233, 234, 246, 330
Maxwell-Scotts’ driver’s account of events after murder 302–5
mistaken identity theory 6–7, 17, 34, 275, 342
motives 352
plan 31–2
possible scenarios/theories 327–57
Rivett as intended victim theory 334–41
suicide pact suggestion 365
telephoning of mother by Lucan after murder 33, 226–7, 239, 247, 251
timeframe on day of murder 32–4, 326
visit to Maxwell-Scott’s house on night of murder 33, 37, 132, 239, 243–6, 251, 254–5, 291
‘wanting to kill his wife’ remark 204, 289–90
Investigation/Inquest 219–325
arrival of police/CID at crime scene and finding of Rivett’s body 221, 222–4
attempt by friends to clear Lucan’s name 311
autopsy 224
blood analysis anomalies 223, 231–2, 233–5, 237, 240–2, 250, 327, 346, 359, 361
contamination of crime scene and Lucan’s residences 235
coroner’s final address at inquest 315–16
examination of 46 Lower Belgrave Street 226
factual anomalies 361–2
fingerprints 235–6
and Ford Corsair 33, 241, 259–62, 343
forensics 34, 231–6, 241–2, 328
guilty verdict at inquest 3, 6, 38, 316–17
interview with Veronica at hospital and statement taken 34, 227–30
Kait Lucan’s statement and evidence given at inquest 175–6, 246–9, 251
lack of blood on Lucan anomaly 240–2, 361
misgivings and inconsistencies 311–14, 316, 348–9, 361–9
murder weapon (lead piping) 235–7, 339
and newspapers 34, 225, 227, 274, 278
obstruction of investigation by Lucan’s friends, claims of 35, 277–80, 282, 283, 287, 291
opening of inquest 267
police belief in Lucan’s guilt and sympathy shown towards Veronica 221, 228, 237, 280–1
prejudice shown by police against Lucan and his supporters 248, 279–81, 313, 316–17, 348–9
refutation of Lucan’s defence at inquest by police testimony 249–51
reopening of case (2004) 236–7
search for Lucan 226, 264–5, 306
Bill Shand Kydd’s public appeal on News at Ten 292
third person present and interruption of fight in basement defence by Lucan 33, 243–51, 252, 325, 326, 369
warrant for Lucan’s arrest 266
wearing of overcoat by Lucan 242–3, 291
Mackeson, Sir Rupert 41
MacLaine, Shirley 94
McLinden, Elizabeth 13
Main, Janice 43
Margrie, James 137–8
Martin, Christabel (nanny) 192, 263, 346, 364–5
Marylebone Labour Association 74
Matrimonial Causes Act (1973) 183
Maxwell-Scott, Ferga 133
Maxwell-Scott, Ian 33, 89, 109–10, 132–4, 353
affairs 114
background 133
and Clermont Club 132
and gambling 89, 133
living off state benefits 297
marriage and treatment of wife 132, 134
questioning of by police 291
Maxwell-Scott, Susan 37, 133–4, 239, 353
behaviour 133–4
and drinking 134
evidence given at inquest 239, 241–2, 243–6, 249, 251, 255–6, 332
helping Lucan to escape hypothesis 301–4, 370
letter to Daily Star 291–2
loyalty to Lucan and belief in innocence of 292, 316
Lucan’s visit to Grants Hill House of after murder 33, 37, 132, 239, 243–6, 251, 254, 254–5, 291
marriage 133, 134
questioning of by police 291–2
talking about Lucan case in later life 371–2
withholding of information 254, 291
Maybrick, Florence 7, 381
Meinertzhagen, Daniel 83, 115, 116–17, 121, 128, 156, 164, 172–3, 200, 279, 284, 307, 350
Mellor, Stan 40
MI5 36, 121
Miller, Jonathan 80, 83, 127
Mills, Freddie 314
Mitford, Nancy 65, 128–9
Mohun, 4th Baron of 4, 378–9
Montdore, Lady 93
Morley, 15th Baron 378
Morrison, Herbert 71
Mozambique 42
Murphy, Elizabeth (nanny) 190–1
Murray, Len 19
National Front 47
National Service 85
Newhaven 33, 34, 40, 68, 96, 241, 258–61, 264, 265, 290, 294, 301, 303, 304, 308, 309, 310, 327, 370
News at Ten 292
News of the World 268–9, 363, 365
Norfolk, 12th Duke of 8–9
O’Donnell, Mary-Geraldine 263–4, 287
Osborne, Lady 100, 108, 110, 290
Osborne, Sir George 106
Palleotti, Marquis de 379
Park Lane Murder 10–12
Parker-Bowles, Andrew 100
Parks, Mandy (babysitter)
301–2
Parnell, Charles Stewart 61
Peeping Tom (Powell and Pressburger film) 45
Pembroke, 7th Earl of 4, 17, 378
Pereira, Dr Margaret 232–3, 234, 235
Peto, Nick 152, 157, 172, 173, 198
Peto, Zoe (formerly Howard) 114, 141, 152, 154–5, 163, 184, 214, 279, 349, 355
Playboy Club 30, 108, 115, 116, 117, 130, 173
Plumbers Arms pub 221, 231, 238
Portland Club 81, 104, 151
Powell, Elizabeth Anne 9
Powell, Enoch 36, 123
Powell-Brett, Christopher 169
Priory clinic 163, 165, 183
Private Eye 125–6, 179, 283, 285, 299
‘privilege of peerage’ 3
pseudo-aristocracy 18, 19
Queensbury, 4th Duke of 98
Raglan, Lord 60
Ranson, Detective Chief-Superintendent Roy 212, 233–4, 238, 281, 345
arrival at crime scene 225–6
on blood analysis 234–5
on probable death of Lucan 305
and discovery of Ford Corsair 259–60
evidence at inquest 250–1
interviewing of Veronica and belief in story 34, 227–8
on Kaitilin Lucan 178
on Lucan 26, 91, 160–1, 167–8, 187, 191, 199
search for Lucan in Africa 42, 306
search for Lucan in Newhaven 264–6
view of Clermont circle 288–9
Raphael, Stephen 91, 100, 128, 137, 153, 159, 254–5, 282
Rees, Sir Stanley 185, 263
Referendum Party 126
Riel, Marie 10–11, 223
Rivett, Roger 269–70, 271, 275
Rivett, Sandra (née Hensby) (Lucans’ nanny) 195, 267, 268–75
appointment as nanny to Lucan’s children 31, 205, 271–2
background 271
boyfriends 272–3, 274, 275, 336–7
changes night off on day of murder 32, 214–15, 273–4
children born out of wedlock 268–9
friendship with Veronica 195, 205, 275
funeral 276
ignoring of family of by Lucan camp after murder 276
as intended murder victim theory 334–41
liking of by Lucan 275
marriage 269–70, 271
murder of and injuries sustained 6, 14, 17, 223–4, 338–9
nature of 205
relationship with Hankins 273, 274, 336
separation from husband 271, 272
see also Lucan murder case
Robey, Shirley 295
Rodd, Tremayne 131
Russell, Lord William 10
Ryder, Charles 205
Sagan, Françoise 118
St James’s Club 257
St Swithun’s school 139
Salisbury Cathedral 54
Sampson, Keith 224, 240
Sarsfield, James see Lucan, 2nd Earl of
Sarsfield, Patrick see Lucan, 1st Earl of
Sarsfield, William 55
Sarsfield Castle 55
Savoy Hotel 13
Sawicka, Stefanja (nanny) 176, 177, 195
Scott, Dr Hugh 222
Scott, Jeremy 298
Second World War 26, 48, 70, 85
servants
killing of employers by 10–12
Shand Kydd, Bill 37, 74, 128
belief that Lucan is dead 307–8
belief that Lucan should go to the police 284, 293
evidence given at inquest 176, 188, 252–3
letter to Sunday Times Magazine 287–8
Lucan’s friendship with 142
Lucan’s letters to 33, 251–3, 256, 310, 312, 313, 347
and lunch on 8 November 1974 283–4
marriage 136
public appeal on News at Ten 292
riding accident and left paralysed 128
view of by police 288
Shand Kydd, Christina (Veronica’s sister) 74, 82, 114, 114–15, 136, 142, 153, 255, 280–1, 369
belief in innocence of Lucan 316, 354–5, 356
belief that Lucan is dead 307–8
and investigation/inquest 176, 237, 240–1, 312
on Lucan 198, 209, 354–5
and Lucan murder case 286–7, 311
and Lucans’ custody case 180, 183–4, 186
on Lucans’ marriage 143
nature 142
relationship with sister (Veronica) 154, 161, 323
on Rivett 205
Shand Kydds
assume responsibility for Lucan children 183, 262, 318–19
awarded custody of Lucan’s children (1984) 319, 320
Shergar 40
Simpson, Keith (pathologist) 224, 236, 339
Slater, Jim 125
Smith, George Joseph 7, 381
Smith, Madeleine 7, 25, 381
Smyth, Margaret see Lucan, Margaret, Countess of
Smith, Dr Michael 223
Somerset, 1st Earl and Countess of 377
South Africa 42, 68, 139
Spark, Muriel 80–1, 182, 183
aiding and abetting 38, 119, 296
Spencer, 2nd Earl of 56
Spencer, Lavinia (née Bingham) 56, 138
Stein, Cyril 209
Stirling, Bill 109
Stirling, Colonel David 36, 122, 170
Stonehouse, John 39
Stoop, Michael 36, 122, 128, 351
belief that Lucan is dead 259
borrowing of Ford Corsair by Lucan 33, 207–8
evidence given at inquest 256–8
Lucan’s letters to 33, 256–8, 291, 309
view of Veronica 156, 167
Stourton, 8th Baron 377
summer Season 92–3
Sunday Times Magazine 28, 37, 130, 131, 132, 141, 161, 258, 283, 287, 293, 300
Taki 289–90
taxation 121, 123
Taylor, Charlie 107, 110
tender years doctrine 180–1
Thatcher, Margaret 212
Thomas, Julia Martha 10
Thomas, Sarah 10
Thompson, Edith 7–8, 9, 306, 348
Thorvaldsen, Bertel 56–7
three-day week 46, 121
Thurston, Gavin (coroner) 312, 314
Trade Union Congress 19, 46
trade unions 46, 47, 122
True, Ronald 5–6
Turner, Norman 180
Tynan, Kenneth 131–2
Unison (vigilante organization) 122
Upstairs, Downstairs 18
Wakes Colne Place 76
Walker, General Sir Walter 122
Wallace, William 7, 382
Wallis, Wing-Commander Kenneth 265
Warwick, 6th Earl of 379
Warwick, 8th Earl of 81
Warwick Castle 35
Waterfield, Kim 93
Watling, Brian 246, 247, 250, 257, 314
Waugh, Evelyn 119
Webster, Kate 10
Westminster, Duke of 18
Wheatsheaf Inn, near Basingstoke 138
Wheeler, Stuart 81, 91, 107, 115, 126, 146, 152, 171, 209, 259, 274, 278, 350
White Elephant (London club) 173
Whitehouse, Arthur (barman) 221–2
wife-confinement 15–16
Wilbraham, John 206, 297
William Brandt’s bank 87–8
Wilson, Harold 46–7, 121–2, 123
Windsor racecourse 83
Woman Times Seven (De Sica film) 94
Woodgate, Roger 44
Woodham-Smith, Cecil 73
The Reason Why 73
Wright, Peter 122
Wyatt, Woodrow 122, 125
Zilkha, Selim 202, 212
Picture Credits
1. John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, by Bassano, 24 January 1973 (© National Portrait Gallery, London).
2. Laleham Abbey (Wikimedia Commons).
3. The 3rd Earl of Lucan (Universal History Archive/Getty Images).
4. The Lucan Memorial (Laura Thompson).
5. Lord Lucan’s parents’ wedding (Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images).
6. Lucan at St Moritz (Topfoto).
7. Lucan in a powerboat race (Topfoto).
8. Lucan and Veronica announce their engagement (Topfoto/UPPA).
9. The Lucans’ wedding day (Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)
10. Aspinall, Burke and Lady Osborne (Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images).
11. Dominick Elwes and Tessa Kennedy (REX/Associated Newspapers).
12. James Goldsmith in France (Central Press/Getty Images).
13. Veronica with Frances (Topfoto).
14. The Clermont Club (Topfoto).>
15. The Shand Kydds, 23 February 1971 (Popperfoto/Getty Images).
16. Lucan and Zoe Howard at Portofino (Daily Mail/REX).
17. Lucan at a gambling club, 30 April 1973 (REX/Associated Newspapers).
18. Lucan’s mews home in Eaton Row (Laura Thompson).
19. Lucan’s flat at 72a Elizabeth Street (Topfoto).
20. Andrina Colquhoun in Hyde Park (Len Trievnor/Express/Getty Images).
21. Sandra Rivett (Topfoto).
22. 46 Lower Belgrave Street, 8 November 1975 (Mirrorpix).
23. The Plumbers Arms (Topfoto).
24. Grants Hill House, Uckfield (Mirrorpix).
25. Susan Maxwell-Scott (Keystone/Getty Images).
26. The Ford Corsair in Newhaven (East Sussex archives).
27. The police hunt for Lucan (Mirrorpix).
28. Ranson and Gerring (REX/Ken Towner/Associated Newspapers).
29. Veronica returns to Belgravia (Frank Barratt/Keystone/Getty Images).
30. Daily Mirror front page, 14 November 1974 (Mirrorpix).
31. Kaitilin Lucan (REX/Graham Morris/Associated Newspapers).
32. Roger Rivett, 16 June 1975 (Central Press/Getty Images).
33. Frances, George and Veronica (REX/Geoffrey White/Associated Newspapers).
34. Lord Lucan in a West End club, 30 April 1973 (REX/Evening News).
35. 46 Lower Belgrave Street today (Wikimedia Commons)
36. ‘Jungly’ Barry in Goa (Topfoto).
Endpapers: 1967 London Premier Map, reproduced by permission of Geographers’ A-Z Map Co. Ltd. Licence No. B6916. © Crown copyright and database rights 2014 Ordnance Survey 100017302.
About this Book
On 7 November 1974, a nanny named Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in a Belgravia basement. A second woman, Veronica, Countess of Lucan, was also attacked. The man named in a coroner’s court as the perpetrator of these crimes, Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared in the early hours of the following morning. The case, solved in the eyes of the law, has retained its fascination ever since.
Laura Thompson, acclaimed biographer of Agatha Christie, narrates the story that led up to that cataclysmic event, and draws on her considerable forensic skills to re-examine the possible truths behind one of postwar Britain’s most notorious murders. A Different Class of Murder is a portrait of an era, of an extraordinary cast of characters, of a mystery, of a modern myth. Part social history, part detective story, it tells in masterly style one of the great tales of our collective living memory.