Lord Charles Bruce

Captain Lord Charles William Brudenell-Bruce (18 June 1834 – 16 April 1897), was a British soldier and Liberal Party politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under William Ewart Gladstone between 1880 and 1885.

Captain The Right Honourable Lord Charles Brudenell-Bruce
Lord Charles Bruce, by Leslie Ward, 1882.
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office 3 May 1880 – 9 June 1885
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	The Viscount Barrington
Succeeded by	Viscount Lewisham
Personal details
Born	18 June 1834
Died	16 April 1897 (1897-04-17) (aged 62)
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Augusta Seymour (d. 1901)
Parent(s)	Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury Maria Elizabeth Tollemache

Background

Bruce was the son of Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, by his second wife Maria Elizabeth Tollemache, daughter of the Honourable Charles Tollemache, of Harrington, Northamptonshire. George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury, and Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury, were his elder half-brothers.^[1]

Military career

Bruce served in the 1st Life Guards. He purchased a captaincy in the regiment on 30 August 1859, succeeding Hon. Dudley FitzGerald-deRos.^[2] He was also an Honorary Major in the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry.^[1]

Political career

Bruce sat as Member of Parliament for North Wiltshire from 1865 to 1874 and for Marlborough from 1878 to 1885.^[3] In 1880 he was sworn of the Privy Council^[4] and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under William Ewart Gladstone,^[5] a post he held until the Liberal government fell in 1885.^[6]

Family

Bruce married Augusta Georgiana Sophia Seymour, daughter of Frederick Charles William Seymour and granddaughter of Lord Hugh Seymour, on 2 February 1860. They had no children. He died in April 1897, aged 62.^[1] Lady Charles Bruce died in February 1901.^[7]