Lord Lucan thread

[OVienna]

Current sighting:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7945363/Scotland-Yard-launches-probe-claim-Lord-Lucan-alive-living-Buddhist-Australia.html

The background:

inews.co.uk/light-relief/offbeat/lord-lucan-sightings-found-alive-missing-what-happened-explained-1378825

I have always been incredibly fascinated by this because of the class angle.

For me it's completely different from other "unsolved mysteries" and "suspected cover-ups" in that there was a genuine botched investigation at the start.

I think it was in 2003 when a dottery Toff who knew him in the day casually wrote into the Daily Telegraph after a report of another recent sighting, essentially saying ho ho ho chaps, we know that he's dead now but died sometime between 1980 and 2003. It was like an eight line letter. It did get some coverage at the time - I have tried to find it again online but haven't been able to. I'll search again later.

I do believe at least one of his mates knows (or knew, if they're not still around) exactly what happened to him and that it wasn't as was reported in the press. Does this qualify me for a tin hat?

Aside from the sheer tragedy for the nanny and her family, it really is a mystery worthy of a film. Imagine if that’s really him.

And I don’t understand his motivation at all.

Oh, also - people were much better looking in the 70s

This fascinates me too! Yes, I think friends helped him to escape. I watched an interesting documentary on it a while back which suggested he'd escaped by boat and had lived for a while at least. Had he had a boating accident or did I make that bit up?!
Poor wife, children, housekeeper. All pretty messed up.

Carpetry I read about the boat accident hypothesis too, I think around the time Lady Lucan died

Aha, yes! The aristocracy just play by different rules don't they. I'm glad I'm just plain old me! Although I would like a stately home though.
Wasn't there something about Lady Lucan, child custody issues and trying to get her committed to an institution? All because Lucan was trying to divorce her?

people were much better looking in the 70s

I know I was.

Sorry, have just read OVienna's link (which I should have done to start with!) The story is clearer now but I do think I remember the bit about mental health hazing his wife in order to gain custody of the children.
They really were a beautiful looking couple but she looks so terribly young

She really did look young, and unhappy.

He seems a nasty piece of work. I’m horrified that his friends covered up for him. If he’s alive I hope he can finally answer for his crimes.

LaMarschallin

I can't find any pictures of Sandra Rivett, but did she look like Lady Lucan? As I seem to remember a theory that he killed her thinking it was his wife? So sad for both families, and I agree that Veronica looked unhappy in the photos with her husband - even on their wedding day.

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/lady-lucans-letters-found-hidden-floorboards-reveal-husband/ LadyLucan letters (2019)

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/new-lady-lucan-something-tragic-having-mother-in-law-didnt-want/

Everyone connected with this family seems batshit. Quote from the article above:

‘Yes, because it’s incredibly boring,’ she says, with a sigh. ‘It was a very, very dark time for my husband, because he lost a nanny, he lost a father and he also lost a mother. They [the three children] were removed, and made wards of the court. Social services took them from the care of their mother. Everybody would like to just move forward.’

Boring is not exactly the word I'd use to describe a situation in which he lost a nanny, father and mother (note, which relationship is mentioned first) and then gets taken into care. Everyone would like to move forward. Righteeho!

Yes, I know she is not a native speaker of English...but that is not exactly the most tactful word. Also, it's phrasing things in that way that makes me think the family is sort of saying: "Nothing to see here!"

I wonder if Lady L avoided the children because they might question her about what happened.

Hope this works - third picture down.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/10842664/lord-lucan-found-nanny-son/amp/

My word and this quote: ‘Frankly, I don’t really care [what happened], in the sense that time moves on. This generation is not interested in those things, but being a foreigner, one of the things that I really appreciate about British society is its sense of fairness. And this fairness to me is embodied in the judicial system,’ she says, quickly and firmly. ‘John, George’s father, never stood trial, and I firmly believe that everybody is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. It’s so long ago, it’s time to let go and focus on something else.’

So she’s saying the murder of a young woman is boring?

Certainly seems that way to me.

It is disturbing reading those quotes

"Boring" is upper class speak for "don't want to talk about it", not boring as in dull.

The family clearly feel tainted by it and want the whole saga forgotten. The new Lady Lucan wouldn't have known anything about the original story, which was a real scandal at the time.

It went on for years and affected a lot of people because as LL was missing but not dead, all his tenants were in limbo too.

The family understandably would like it all forgotten but unfortunately it's a very interesting unsolved mystery to many people, not least the nanny's family.

I do understand difficulty the family was in. I just think saying she "doesn't care" what happened is insensitive and rude.

Could be a lost in translation thing, as she isn't British. It does sound a bit hard though.

No, boring really is what upper classes call anything awkward.

Have you ever heard an irritating character being called a “ frightful bore” in period movies and novels? I’ve come across its few times... it doesn’t mean dull.

I remember when this happened. Lucan's gang of uppers gathered together and closed ranks against anything that may have disclosed information about him. Dominick Elwes, an artist and friend, was believed by them to have broken their mafia style omerta and killed himself some time later. The terms in which they spoke of Sandra Rivett, the nanny, were contemptuous and she seemed to be regarded as a bloody nuisance rather than a mother, murdered by their very good friend. There was a definite air of "it's only the bloody nanny" about it. A truly repellent bunch of people to have on one's side and considerably worse to have in opposition. Presumably their loyalty gives them credit; if he lived/lives he's never been betrayed by them.