 His father was engineer William Topham Sidney Beauclerk (1864–1950), whose great-grandfather was Topham Beauclerk, who was in turn a grandson of the 1st Duke of St Albans.His mother was Lola, Countess de Peñalver (died 19 November 1972), only surviving child of Enrique, 6th Marquis de Arcos.Educated at Downside School and then in France, Captain Beauclerk served as a military intelligence officer during World War II.