Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT (30 April 1729 – 19 April 1814), styled The Honourable Thomas Brudenell until 1747 and known as The Lord Bruce of Tottenham between 1747 and 1776, was a British courtier.

Background and education

Born Thomas Brudenell, he was the youngest son of

George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan (29 September 1685 – 5 July 1732), styled Lord Brudenell between 1698 and 1703, was a British peer. Origins He was the son of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell, by his wife Lady Frances Savile, grand-daugh ...

and Lady Elizabeth Bruce. He was the younger brother of

George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu George Montagu, Duke of Montagu KG, PC, FRS (26 July 1712 – 23 May 1790)G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ir ...

James Brudenell, 5th Earl of Cardigan James Brudenell, 5th Earl of Cardigan (20 April 1725 – 24 February 1811), styled The Honourable James Brudenell until 1780 and known as The Lord Brudenell between 1780 and 1790, was a British courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commo ...

and the Honourable

Robert Brudenell Robert Brudenell (20 September 1726 – 20 October 1768) was a British army officer and Member of Parliament. Brudenell was the third son of the 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Elizabeth Bruce and a younger brother of the 1st Duke of Montagu a ...

. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. In February 1747, aged 17, he succeeded his uncle, the 4th Earl of Elgin and 3rd and last Earl of Ailesbury, as 2nd Baron Bruce of Tottenham according to a special remainder in the

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

.thepeerage.com Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury
/ref> In 1767 he assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Bruce.

Public life

Coat of Arms of Thomas Brudenell-Bruce 1st Earl of Ailesbury

Lord Bruce served as a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and was briefly in May 1776 Governor to the Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick. In June 1776 he was created Earl of Ailesbury (later styled

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

), in the County of Buckingham, a revival of the earldom which had become extinct on his uncle's death. He subsequently served as

Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

from 1780 to 1782, as

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

from 1780 to 1792 and as Treasurer to Queen Charlotte from 1792 to 1814. On 29 November 1786 he was made a

Knight of the Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The ...

Family

Lord Ailesbury married firstly, Susanna Hoare, daughter of the banker

Henry Hoare Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and widow of

Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan (27 January 1729 – 16 September 1759) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Boyle was the eldest son of John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and his first wife, Henrietta, daughter of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney. He ...

, on 17 February 1761; her only child from her first marriage was

Henrietta O'Neill Henrietta O'Neill (1758 – September 1793) was an Irish poet. The only daughter of Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, and his wife, the former Susannah Hoare, she was born Henrietta Boyle. Her father died in 1759 and her mother later married ...

, later a successful poet. They had five children: *Lady Caroline Anne Brudenell-Bruce (d. 1824), died unmarried. *George Brudenell-Bruce, Lord Bruce (1762–1783), died unmarried. *Lady Frances Elizabeth Brudenell-Bruce (1765–1836), married Sir Henry Wright-Wilson, MP for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

. *Hon. Charles Brudenell-Bruce (1767–1768), died in infancy. *

Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury (14 February 1773 – 4 January 1856), styled The Honourable Charles Brudenell-Bruce from birth until 1776, Lord Bruce from 1776 to 1814 and The Earl of Ailesbury from 1814 to 1821, was a Britis ...

(1773–1856). Susanna, Countess of Ailesbury, died on 4 February 1783. Lord Ailesbury married as his second wife Lady Anne Elizabeth Rawdon (1753-1813), eldest daughter of

John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira (17 March 1720 – 20 June 1793), known as Sir John Rawdon, Bt, between 1724 and 1750 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1750 and 1762, was an Irish peer. Background Rawdon was the only son of Sir John Rawdon, 3rd Baro ...

, on 14 February 1788. There were no children from this marriage. She died on 8 January 1813. Lord Ailesbury died at Seamore Place, Mayfair, London, in April 1814, aged eighty-four. He was succeeded in the earldom by his third but only surviving son, Charles, who was created

Marquess of Ailesbury Marquess of Ailesbury (later styled Aylesbury), in the County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1821 for Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury. On 18 March 1664, Robert Bruce, ...

in 1821.

Gallery

Bibliography

Manuscripts

* correspondence and papers * papers * miscellaneous correspondence 1753-1809 * 1796-1807 correspondence with Duke of Buccleuch * 196-1807 Letters to Sir R J Buxton * correspondence with Lord Elgin * 1766-68 - ten letters to Lord Rockingham.Sheffield City Archives WWM; WRA 1083 Wentworth Woodhouse

Sources

* * *

References

External links

*
AilesburyBrudenell Bruce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ailesbury, Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl Of 1729 births 1814 deaths People educated at Winchester College Earls of Ailesbury Knights of the Thistle Lord-Lieutenants of Wiltshire

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Younger sons of earls