Major-General The Honourable Robert Bruce (15 March 1813 – 27 June 1862) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served as Governor to the young Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.

Family background

He was the fourth son of

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 ...

, and the Earl's second son by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Townsend Oswald.

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, (20 July 181120 November 1863) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. He served as Governor of Jamaica (1842–1846), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847– ...

was his elder brother, and his younger brothers included Frederick Wright-Bruce and Thomas Charles Bruce.William Bruce Armstrong, "Bruce, Earls of Elgin and Kincardine", in Sir James Balfour Paul ed., ''The Scots Peerage'', volume III, Edinburgh 1906
pp. 493494

Military service

Bruce entered the Army at the age of seventeen,Obituary
in ''Colonist'', volume V, issue 519, 14 October 1862, p. 4. with the purchase of a commission as ensign and lieutenant in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 18 June 1830. His promotion to lieutenant and captain was purchased on 22 February 1833. Bruce served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the regiment from 28 May 1835 until July 1836 and then on the staff of Sir Edward Blakeney, the commander-in-chief in Ireland. Bruce served as military secretary to his brother Lord Elgin, the governor of Jamaica, from 1841 to 1846, in the meantime being promoted captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Grenadier Guards, again by purchase, on 2 August 1844. He acted again as military secretary to his brother from 1847 to 1854, during Elgin's term as Governor-General of the Province of Canada, and on 20 June 1854 he was granted brevet rank as colonel. He returned to England in that year and served briefly as a surveyor-general at the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

. He was promoted major of his regiment, without purchase, on 16 September 1856, and served until he retired as a lieutenant-colonel on the half-pay unattached list on 7 December 1858.

Governor of the Prince of Wales

In 1858 Bruce was appointed governor to the seventeen-year-old Prince of Wales, following the dismissal of the Prince's tutor Frederick Waymouth Gibbs.H. C. G. Matthew, "Edward VII" in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

''
Online version
Retrieved 16 December 2013. He attended the Prince during his time at

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 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

between 1859 and 1861, and accompanied him on his trips to Rome in 1859 and Canada and the United States in 1860. On 7 December 1859 he was promoted major-general. In 1862 he went with the Prince of Wales on a tour of the Near East, where he caught a fever. He died at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

in the rooms of his sister Lady Augusta Bruce, later wife of Dean Stanley. Following Bruce's death Sir William Knollys was appointed comptroller and treasurer to the Prince.

Marriage

Bruce was married on 2 May 1848 to Katherine Mary, second daughter of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, 6th Baronet. Their son John McGregor Bruce was born on 10 June 1849 in Doune, Perthsire, Scotland. Katherine was appointed a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria in 1866, and was a Lady of the Order of Victoria and Albert. She died on 3 December 1889.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Robert 1813 births 1862 deaths Younger sons of earls Grenadier Guards officers British Army major generals

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...