Most 27-year-olds don’t have a family name that appears in Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth Mary Wilhelmina Bentinck does. Her great-great-grandfather helped overthrow a king. Her great-uncle’s art collection sold to Spain for $350 million. Her mother survived a plane crash that split a Learjet in half. Yet when Companies House records show her appointment as a company director in April 2023, it marks the first time she’s stepped into public view.
This is the story of a woman who could have lived off inherited wealth but chose something different.
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The Thyssen Fortune: $350 Million in Art and Steel Money
Elizabeth’s connection to wealth runs deeper than most realize. Her father’s mother was Gabrielle Thyssen-Bornemisza, linking the Bentinck family to one of Europe’s great industrial empires. The Thyssen fortune, built on German steel production, created generations of collectors and philanthropists.
Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Elizabeth’s great-uncle, assembled what became the second-largest private art collection in the world. Over 1,600 paintings filled his Villa Favorita in Switzerland. Works by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Van Gogh, and Gauguin. Thirteen centuries of European painting, from medieval altarpieces to 20th-century American art.
In 1993, the Spanish government bought the collection for $350 million. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum opened in Madrid, sitting alongside the Prado as part of the city’s “Golden Triangle of Art.” The family that produced steel barons had produced one of the world’s great cultural institutions.
Baron Steven Bentinck: Chairman, Father, Aristocrat
Elizabeth’s father, Baron Steven-Carel Johannes Bentinck, was born March 1, 1957, into this world of art and industry. His father, Adolph Willem Carel Baron Bentinck, served as Dutch ambassador to France in the 1960s. Education took Steven from Paris to Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, then to Brunel School of Economics in England.
He became chairman of Applied Power Technology International and Scientia Ltd. In May 1996, he met Lisa Hogan, a 24-year-old Irish actress and model who had just appeared in the John Cleese comedy “Fierce Creatures.”
Three months later, Lisa boarded Steven’s private Learjet for what should have been a routine flight.
August 1996: The Crash That Changed Everything
The ยฃ1 million Learjet took off from Palma, heading to RAF Northolt outside London. Lisa was traveling alone to rehearse for additional film work. As the aircraft approached the runway, something went wrong.
The plane overshot the landing strip. It careened onto the A40 dual carriageway, one of west London’s busiest roads. A van collided with the aircraft. The impact split the Learjet in two.
Lisa Hogan climbed out with a cut on her leg. Nothing else.
Before boarding, the pilot had asked her to sit in a specific section of the plane. She refused, choosing her own seat. The area where the pilot wanted her to sit was precisely where the van tore through the fuselage. Her stubbornness saved her life.
The Irish Times reported at the time that the two pilots had argued over the controls just before the crash. Lisa later told friends she was “almost a goner.”
Two years later, in 1998, she married Baron Bentinck.
Three Children, Five Homes, One Yacht
Elizabeth Mary Wilhelmina Bentinck arrived October 22, 1998. Her brother Wolfe Goswin followed on April 25, 2000. Their sister Alice Arlene Gabriel was born October 17, 2001.
The family lived across multiple continents. Their main residence was Moyns Park, a Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion in Essex. Built in the late 1500s for Thomas Gent, Queen Elizabeth I’s Baron of the Exchequer, the moated estate covered hundreds of acres. Previous residents included Ivar Bryce, a close friend of Ian Fleming who inspired the character Felix Leiter in the James Bond novels.
The Bentincks also owned homes in London, New York, and Norris Castle on the Isle of Wight. A mansion in Klosters, the exclusive Swiss ski resort, provided winter retreats. They kept a 147-foot yacht, the “Zaca A Te Mona,” meaning “Peace of the Sea.”
This was childhood for Elizabeth and her siblings. Private planes, historic estates, international schooling.
It ended in 2005.
The Swiss Divorce: Custody Battle in the Alps
Baron Bentinck and Lisa Hogan separated when Elizabeth was seven years old. The legal proceedings unfolded in Swiss courts, specifically the district court presidency of Prรคttigau/Davos.
Court documents from June 2007 show both parties agreeing that the three children would remain in Lisa’s care during the divorce proceedings. The children attended Hordle Walhampton School in England. By October 2008, the court ordered maintenance payments from Baron Bentinck covering the children’s school fees, the family home rent, and private health insurance through Bupa.
Lisa hired Baroness Fiona Shackleton, the lawyer famous for representing Prince Charles during his divorce from Princess Diana and, later, Paul McCartney in his split from Heidi Mills. The divorce was finalized in 2011.
Elizabeth was 12 years old when her parents’ marriage officially ended.
Lisa Hogan Meets Jeremy Clarkson
In 2017, Lisa attended a party where she met Jeremy Clarkson, the former Top Gear presenter. Mutual friends made the introduction. Clarkson was 57, recently split from his second wife. Lisa was 45, six years past her divorce.
They started dating. By 2020, Lisa had moved to Diddly Squat Farm, Clarkson’s 1,000-acre property in the Cotswolds. When Amazon Prime launched “Clarkson’s Farm” in 2021, Lisa appeared throughout the series, managing the farm shop and helping with daily operations.
The show became a hit. Millions watched Clarkson struggle with farming while Lisa rolled her eyes at his schemes and kept the business running. She’s appeared in all four seasons, released through 2025.
Lisa has made clear she won’t marry again. “No, thank you, I like Lisa Hogan,” she told Fabulous magazine when asked about becoming Mrs. Clarkson. They’ve been together nine years. Neither sees a reason to change the arrangement.
Elizabeth Steps Into Business
While her mother became a television personality, Elizabeth stayed out of view. No Instagram presence. No interviews. No public appearances at events where her family name might open doors.
On April 14, 2023, Companies House records show her appointment as director of Welafour Limited, a private company registered at 27 Mortimer Street in London. The company operates in business support services. Lisa Hogan holds significant control as the person with major influence over company decisions.
The business is classified as a micro entity, meaning turnover stays below ยฃ1 million annually. Elizabeth’s nationality is listed as Dutch, her residence as the United Kingdom. She was 24 years old when she took the position.
It’s her first documented professional role. No trust fund living. No celebrity Instagram brand. Just a directorship at a small London company.
The Bentinck Name: Four Centuries of History
The name Elizabeth carries connects to moments that shaped Britain. Hans Willem Bentinck, born in 1649 in the Dutch province of Overijssel, became page to William of Orange at age 15. When William fell sick with smallpox in 1675, Bentinck nursed him through the illness, sleeping in the same room to provide “animal spirits” according to the medical theory of the time.
The prince survived. The friendship lasted for life.
In 1688, when William planned to invade England and take the throne from James II, Bentinck managed the operation. He negotiated with German princes for support, raised funds, supervised propaganda, and coordinated the invasion fleet. William landed at Torbay on November 5, 1688. James II fled to France. Parliament declared the throne vacant and offered it to William and his wife Mary.
Bentinck received the titles Earl of Portland, Viscount Woodstock, and Baron Cirencester. He became Groom of the Stole, Keeper of the Privy Purse, and a Privy Councillor. When he died in 1709, he was buried at Westminster Abbey in the Ormond Vault, now beneath the Royal Air Force Chapel.
Elizabeth Mary Wilhelmina Bentinck is his direct descendant, eleven generations later.
Choosing a Different Path
Elizabeth is 27 now. Her mother lives on a farm with one of Britain’s most famous television presenters. Her father remains in the world of international business and European aristocracy. Her great-uncle’s art collection draws tourists to Madrid. Her ancestor’s name is carved into stone at Westminster Abbey.
She directs a small London company with her mother. She maintains almost no public presence. She holds Dutch nationality and lives in Britain, splitting her identity between two countries like her ancestors did.
The Bentinck family built its reputation on service to William III, on diplomatic skill, on being close to power without seeking the spotlight for its own sake. Elizabeth appears to have inherited that particular trait. Not the wealth, not the estates, not the yacht or the multiple homes.
Just the understanding that a name, no matter how historic, means nothing without what you choose to do with it.
