George William Frederick Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury (20 November 1804 – 6 January 1878), styled Lord Bruce between 1814 and 1821 and Earl Bruce between 1821 and 1856, was a British peer, Liberal politician and courtier.

Background and education

Born in Lower Grosvenor Street, London, Bruce was the oldest son of Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, and his first wife the Hon. Henrietta Hill, oldest daughter of Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick. He was the brother of Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury, and the half-brother of Lord Charles Brudenell-Bruce. He was baptised at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

, with

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and

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

as his godparents. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. In 1856, he succeeded to his father's titles and, in 1868, to those of his distant cousin James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan.

Career

Bruce entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

in 1826, representing

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) until 1829. In 1838, he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his fathe ...

in his father's subsidiary title Baron Bruce. He was appointed Yeomanry Aide to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in 1857 and was invested as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1859. Ailesbury held political office under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

and Lord Russell as

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...

between 1859 and 1866. Having previously been a Deputy Lieutenant, he became

Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of the English county of Wiltshire. From 1750, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire. Lord Lieutenants of Wiltshire * William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1 ...

in 1863. On 25 May 1864, he was invested as a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. He was once again Master of the Horse, this time under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, between 1868 and 1874.

Family and death

On 11 May 1837, Lord Ailesbury married Lady Mary Herbert, third daughter of

George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, in the church where he was baptised. Brudenell-Bruce died in 1878, aged 73, at Lockeridge House, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, and was buried there. Because he had no issue, his titles were inherited by his younger brother, Ernest Brudenell-Bruce. The Marchioness of Ailesbury died at 78

Pall Mall, London Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road (England), A4 road. The street's name is derived f ...

, in January 1892, aged 78. She is buried in St Katharine's Church,

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunt ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ailesbury, George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of 1804 births 1878 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire Knights of the Garter Lord-lieutenants of Wiltshire Bruce, George Brudenell-Bruce, Earl Bruce, George Brudenell-Bruce, Earl Ailesbury, M2 George Earls of Cardigan Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 2