Background
Herbert was the second but eldest surviving son of the Honorary Auberon Herbert, younger son of Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. His mother was Lady Florence, daughter of George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper.
Herbert was the second but eldest surviving son of the Honorary Auberon Herbert, younger son of Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. His mother was Lady Florence, daughter of George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper.
He was educated at Bedford School and Balliol College, Oxford.
Herbert was a captain in the Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) and worked as a war correspondent during the Boer War, where he was wounded and lost a legal However, it was not until 1907 that he was confirmed in the titles by the Committee for Privileges of the House of Lords and allowed to take his seat in the House of Lords. Lucas was private secretary to Richard Haldane, the Secretary of State for War, from 1907 to 1908.
In April 1908 he was appointed to his first ministerial post as Under-Secretary of State for War (with a seat on the Army Council) by H. H. Asquith, a post he held until 1911.
He was Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies between March and October 1911 and then served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1911 to 1914. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1912 and in August 1914 he entered the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
However, he did not hold office in the coalition government formed by Asquith in May 1915. Lucas also played a prominent part in David Lloyd George"s Land Campaign.
Lucas served as a captain in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War.
On 3 November 1916, he was wounded by bullets from German fighter aircraft during a flight over German lines, and died of his wounds the same day, aged 40.
He was a member of H. H. Asquith"s cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture between 1914 and 1915.