They were the parents of four children, including Nan Ino Cooper, 10th Baroness Lucas (Ralph Lucas's maternal grandmother), and her elder daughter, Anne Rosemary, married Major the Hon Robert Jocelyn Palmer MC (son of Roundell Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne).

During his gap year in 1969, he accompanied Professor Thomas Frederick Hewer and Brigadier Brian Mortimer Archibald across Afghanistan and Iran, collecting plants for Kew Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society as a private expedition.

[5] He remains an active backbencher, taking a particular interest in education, liberty, electronic government, planning, finance and parking regulation.

[11] He has expressed his concerns over the dangers of charlatan tutors for very young children [12] and rung warning bells over the ever rising fees of independent schools.

'[15] Since inheriting his title and remaining through election by his peers, Ralph Lucas continues to be active in the House of Lords.

He was instrumental in adding what became known as the Lucas amendment, 'An apology, an offer of treatment or other redress, shall not of itself amount to an admission of negligence or breach of statutory duty' to the Compensation Act of 2006, allowing people to apologise to victims without legal penalty.

[20] With Lady Lucas, he set up the Making Natural History project, using creative works to highlight environmental issues in and beyond Eastbourne.