Michael Bruce (1787–1861) was a British adventurer, who gained the nickname "Lavelette Bruce" for his part in smuggling Antoine Marie Chamans, comte de Lavalette out of France at the time of the Bourbon Restoration. He is now largely remembered as a lover of

Lady Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British aristocrat, adventurer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her archaeological excavation of Ashkelon in 1815 is considered the first to ...

. He was a Member of Parliament in 1830–1.

Life

Born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

where his father was a merchant, he was the son of Patrick Craufurd Bruce and his wife Jane Smith, and was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He matriculated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

in 1806. Later, in 1821, he was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1826. Bruce did not complete a degree at Cambridge, after a year or so beginning to travel in Europe. It was during his voyages in the Mediterranean and Near East that he encountered Lady Hester Stanhope, on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1810. They lived together for three years, spent on trips that included

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

. They parted in 1813. Moving to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and then

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Bruce took part in the successful plot to smuggle the Comte de Lavalette out of France: he was a supporter of Napoleon condemned by the Bourbons. When Bruce was put on trial for this offence in 1816, he received a sentence of three months. His reputation, however, was not badly sullied, and

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, a college friend, acted as his

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

two years later. Bruce then went in for Whig party politics, as a friend of

John Cam Hobhouse John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, (27 June 1786 – 3 June 1869), known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was an English politician and diarist. Early life Born at Redland near Bristol, Broughton was the eldest son of Sir ...

, but hampered by the collapse of his father's bank in 1816. In the end the Marquess of Cleveland, who had in recent years moved from the Whigs to supporting the Tory ministry, found him the seat of in 1830. His patron then switching to support for reform, Bruce made himself conspicuous for his reluctance to do the same. He was replaced by Cleveland for the 1831 general election, and left public life.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Michael 1787 births 1861 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge UK MPs 1830–1831 Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies