Earls of Kincardine (1647)

1^st Earl of Kincardine, Edward Bruce, b.?, a.1647, d.1662

Great-grandson of Sir Edward Bruce of Blairhall (b.1505, d.1565) and Alison Reid, grandson of Sir George Bruce (b.?, d.1625) and Margaret Primrose, and son of Sir George Bruce and Mary Preston, daughter of Sir John Preston, 4^th Baronet Preston of Valleyfield, He was second-cousin to Thomas Bruce, 1^st Earl of Elgin. He represented Stirling as an MP, and was created 1^st Earl of Kincardine and 1^st Lord Bruce of Torry in 1647.

2^nd Earl of Kincardine, Alexander Bruce, b.c.1629, a.1662, d.1680

Younger brother of the 1^st Earl. He held high political office as Privy Counsellor, Commissioner of the Treasury and also as an Extraordinary Lord of Session from 1667 to 1680.

3^rd Earl of Kincardine, Alexander Bruce, b.1666, a.1680, d.1705

Son of the 2^nd Earl and Veronica van Arson, daughter of a Dutch noble. He died unmarried.

4^th Earl of Kincardine, Alexander Bruce, b.?, a.1705, d.1706

Second-cousin of the 3^rd Earl, being the son of Robert Bruce (b.?, d.1652), the 1^st Earl’s uncle, and Helen Skene, daughter of Sir James Skene of Curriehill. He served as an MP for Culross for much of his life and was knighted in 1674.

5^th Earl of Kincardine, Robert Bruce, b.c.1660, a.1706, d.1718

Son of the 5^th Earl and Christian Bruce, another descendant of Sir Edward Bruce of Blairhall.

6^th Earl of Kincardine, Alexander Bruce, b.1662, a.1718, d.1721

Younger brother of the 5^th Earl.

7^th Earl of Kincardine, Thomas Bruce, b.1663, a.1721, d.1739-1740

Younger brother of the 5^th and 6^th Earls.

8^th Earl of Kincardine, William Bruce, b.?, a.1740, d.1740

Son of the 7^th Earl and Rachel Pauncefort (b.?, d.1753).

9^th Earl of Kincardine, Charles Bruce, b.1732, a.1740, d.1771

Son of the 8^th Earl and Jane Roberton (b.?, d.1772). He succeeded to the title of 5^th Earl of Elgin in 1747 on the death of his very distant relative.

10^th Earl of Kincardine, William Robert Bruce, b.1764, a.1771, d.1771

Son of the 9^th Earl and Martha Whyte (b.?, d.1810).

11^th Earl of Kincardine, Thomas Bruce, b.1766, a.1771, d.1841

Younger brother of the 10^th Earl. While he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, between 1799 and 1803, he removed the famous marble friezes and sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, damaging them considerably in the process. Although he later gave the excuse that he was protecting the marbles during the Greek Wars of Independence, his actions were controversial even at the time, although supported by a parliamentary committee. However, he sold the marbles to the British Museum for much less than the expenses he had incurred in shipping them to Britain, and the family were saddled with heavy debts. He was a Representative Peer from 1820 to 1841 and Lord-Lieutenant of Fife in 1807. In 1837 he gained the rank of General. He married twice, first to Mary Nisbet, by whom he had three daughters and a son and heir George Charles Constantine Bruce, Lord Bruce (b.1800, d.1840). The heir died unmarried and the title passed to a younger half-brother.

12^th Earl of Kincardine, James Bruce, b.1811, a.1841, d.1863

Son of the 11^th Earl and Elizabeth Oswald (b.?, d.1860). Educated at Eton and Christ Church College Oxford, he was a career diplomat, and following a brief spell as an MP for Southampton, he was made Governor of Jamaica in 1842, before moving to Canada as Governor General in 1847. While in Canada, he made great efforts to establish proper government, often clashing with various political factions, but in general improving the overall situation. Resigning his post in 1854, he became High Commissioner to China in 1857, travelling in China and Japan. During the Second Opium War, he was responsible for the destruction of the old Summer Palace of the Emperor, near Peking, as a retaliation for the treatment of British envoys. This was a massive structure that took 3,500 British troops to set ablaze. In 1862 he became Viceroy of India. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1847, and Knight Grand Cross of the Bath (GCB) in 1858, and was Lord-Lieutenant of Fife from 1854 until his death. In 1849 he was also made 1^st Baron Elgin in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

13^th Earl of Kincardine, Victor Alexander Bruce, b.1849, a.1863, d.1917

Son of the 12^th Earl and Lady Mary Louisa Lambton (b.?, d.1898), daughter of Sir John George Lambton, 1^st Earl of Durham. Following his father as a diplomat, he was Treasurer of the Household, and First Commissioner of Works (a senior government post responsible for all Crown holdings of land, buildings, etc.) and made a Privy Counsellor. He was also made a Captain in the Royal Company of Archers before becoming Viceroy of India in 1894. On his return to Britain in 1899, he was made a Knight of the Garter, and returned to the government as a Secretary of State for the Colonies. He was also made Lord-Lieutenant of Fife and received honorary doctorates from a number of prestigious universities.

14^th Earl of Kincardine, Edward James Bruce, b.1881, a.1917, d.1968

Son of the 13^th Earl and Lady Constance Mary Carnegie (b.1851, d.1909), daughter of Sir James Carnegie, 9^th Earl of Southesk. Educated at Eton and Balliol College Oxford, he went straight into government as Treasurer of the Household and Commissioner of Works, and was made a Privy Counsellor in 1886. From 1894 to 1899 he was Viceroy of India and on stepping down was invested as a Knight of the Garter. He was then Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1905 to 1908. As a Captain in the Royal Garrison Artillery Militia, he fought in the First World War. After the war he returned to government and made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) and admitted to the Royal Company of Archers. He remained in the army, and received various accolades including Honorary Colonel of both the City of Edinburgh Royal Engineers and the 71^st AA Regiment Royal Artillery. In 1933 he was made a Knight of the Thistle, and was Lord-Lieutenant of Fife from 1935 to 1965.

15^th Earl of Kincardine, Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, b.1924, a.1968

Son of the 14^th Earl and Katherine Elizabeth Cochrane (b.?, d.1989), daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Horatio Arthur Ernest Cochrane, 1^st Baron Cochrane of Cults. Educated at Eton and Balliol College Oxford, he joined the Scots Guards and reached the rank of Lieutenant. He was wounded in the Second World War. In later life he was Lord High Commissioner of the General Assembly of Scotland in 1980, made a Knight of the Thistle in 1981, admitted to the Royal Company of Archers, and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Fife from 1987 to 1999. As well as being 15^th Earl of Kincardine, he is also 11^th Earl of Elgin, 11^th Lord Bruce of Kinloss, 15^th Lord Bruce of Torry and 4^th Baron Elgin.

The courtesy title for the heir is Lord Bruce.

(Last updated: 24/06/2009)