Martha Bruce, Countess of Elgin and Kincardine (27 May 1739 – 21 June 1810), known for most of her life as Lady Elgin, was a British noblewoman and

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

Princess Charlotte of Wales Princess Charlotte of Wales may refer to: * Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817) (Charlotte Augusta), the only child of George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV of the United Kingdom ** ''Princess Charlotte of Wales'' (ship), an East In ...

, daughter of the future

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, at the time second in line to the throne. She was the wife of

Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and 9th Earl of Kincardine (6 July 1732 – 14 May 1771) was a Scottish nobleman. He succeeded his cousin Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury as Earl of Elgin in 1747. He was the son of William Bruce, 8th Earl ...

, and mother of the collector

Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, ( ; 20 July 176614 November 1841), often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures ...

Marriage and children

The only child of wealthy banker Thomas Whyte, Esq. of

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

, Martha Whyte married Charles Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 1 June 1759.

George Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

, ''

The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''); first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition re ...

'', vol. E to G (St Catherine Press, Limited, 1926), p. 43: "CHARLES (BRUCE) EARL OF ELGIN... He m., 1 June 1759, at Edinburgh, Martha, only child of Thomas White, of London, Banker... His widow, who was Governess to the Princess Charlotte of Wales, d. at Twickenham, Midx., 21 June, and was bur. there 4 July 1810, in her 71st year." Their eight children were

(1766–1841), known for the removal of the

Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles ( ) are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7 ...

from the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

; Lady Martha Bruce (1760–1767); Lady Janet Bruce (1761–1767); William Bruce, Lord Bruce (15 January 1763 – 27 March 1763);

William Bruce, 6th Earl of Elgin Earl of Elgin ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is th ...

(1764–1771);

Charles Andrew Bruce Charles Andrew Bruce (1768–1810) was briefly Governor of Prince of Wales Island (now called Penang) from March 24, 1810, until his death in office in December 1810. He is buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery, George Town, Penang, now in pr ...

(1768–1810), Governor of

Prince of Wales's Island Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. These ...

;

James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who physically confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North and East Africa and in 1770 became the fir ...

(1769–1798), Member of Parliament for Marlborough; and Lady Charlotte Bruce (28 May 1771 – March 1816), who married Captain (later Admiral)

Philip Charles Durham Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham, Order of the Bath, GCB (baptised 29 July 1763 – 2 April 1845) was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War ...

. In 1762, Lady Elgin's portrait was painted by the fashionable

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) Allan Ramsay (13 October 171310 August 1784) was a Scottish portrait Painting, painter. Life and career Ramsay w ...

, who the same year painted

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 ...

. Lady Elgin's eldest son, William Robert, born in 1763, lived only ten weeks. Her two eldest daughters, Martha and Janet, died in 1767 at the ages of seven and six. On 14 May 1771, she was widowed, and only two months later her second son, also called William Robert, the new Lord Elgin, died at the age of seven. Her remaining four children, three sons and a daughter, all lived to adulthood, but on 10 July 1798 her youngest surviving son,

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, then aged twenty-nine, was drowned while crossing the River Don at

Barnby Dun Barnby Dun is a village in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Together with Kirk Sandall it forms the civil parish of Barnby Dun with Kirk Sandall. It lies between Arksey and Stainforth. It is located about 4 miles north-east of Doncaste ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

when his horse was swept away by the stream.

Later life

In 1797, on the instructions of King George III, and with the title of "'' Gouvernante''", Lady Elgin was appointed to superintend

,''The Annual Biography and Obituary for the year 1818'' (Longman, Hurst, Rees, 1818)
p. 239
"At a proper age, the Princess Charlotte was removed from the nursery, and placed, by her Royal Grandfather, under the superintendance of a very worthy and pious Countess who acted for some years as ''Gouvernante''". only child of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and already seen as the probable next heir to the throne, with whom she became very close. They lived together in a household otherwise consisting entirely of servantsJames Chambers, ''Charlotte and Leopold'' (London: Old Street Publishing, 2007, ) p. 17 at Warwick House in the

St James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End of London, West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of ...

district of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, described as "a rather gloomy edifice near

Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...

". However, during 1804, Charlotte's father insisted on Lady Elgin retiring, ostensibly because she had become too old, but probably because the Prince was angry that Charlotte had been taken to visit her grandfather King George without his permission. According to

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

, An obituary of Princess Charlotte in 1818 described Elgin as "a very worthy and pious Countess who acted for some years as ''Gouvernante''". This title has sometimes been translated as "guardian" rather than "governess". Elgin's own obituary in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...

'' said of her, "At

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, in her 69th year, the Right hon. Martha Bruce, Countess of Elgin and Kincardine; whose life has been spent in the uniform exercise of piety and benevolence. Her public and private charities were unbounded."''The Gentleman's Magazine'', vol. 80 (1810), part 1
p. 674
/ref> However, ''

'' says she died in her 71st year. She was buried at

St Mary's, Twickenham St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a Grade II* listed Church of England place of worship dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin. It is on Church Street, Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elgin, Martha 1739 births 1810 deaths Nobility from Fife Spouses of British politicians Scottish countesses Scottish governesses 18th-century Scottish educators 19th-century Scottish educators 19th-century Scottish nobility 19th-century Scottish women educators Burials at St Mary's Church, Twickenham

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

18th-century British women educators 18th-century British educators 19th-century British women educators