Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin

Scottish noble (1732–1771)

The Right Honourable

The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine

Born| Charles Bruce
(1732-07-06)6 July 1732
Died| 14 May 1771(1771-05-14) (aged 38)
Buried| Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland
Spouse(s)|

Martha Whyte

(m. 1759)​

Issue|

* Lady Martha Bruce
* Lady Janet Bruce
* William Bruce, Lord Bruce
* William Bruce, 6th Earl of Elgin
* Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
* The Hon. Charles Bruce
* The Hon. James Bruce
* Lady Charlotte Durham

Father| William Bruce, 8th Earl of Kincardine
Mother| Janet Roberton
The grave of Sir Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin, Dunfermline Abbey Coats of arms of the Earl of Elgin

Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and 9th Earl of Kincardine (6 July 1732 – 14 May 1771) was the son of William Bruce, 8th Earl of Kincardine. His mother was Janet Roberton, daughter of James Roberton (principal Lord of Session)[1] and great-granddaughter of advocate and judge Lord Bedlay[2][3]

On 1 June 1759, he married Martha Whyte (1739–1810), who later became governess to Princess Charlotte of Wales. They had eight children:[1]

* Lady Martha Bruce (b. 3 June 1760), died young
* Lady Janet Bruce (b. 2 July 1761), died young
* William Robert Bruce, Lord Bruce (b. 15 January 1763), died young
* William Robert Bruce, 6th Earl of Elgin (1764-1771)
* Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766-1841)
* Charles Andrew Bruce (1768-1810), Governor of Prince of Wales's Island
* James Bruce (1769-1798), Member of Parliament
* Lady Charlotte Matilda Bruce (28 May 1771 - March 1816), married Admiral Philip Charles Durham

Elgin was Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons from 1761 to 1763 and a founding member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.[1] He built the planned industrial village of Charlestown, Fife.[4]

He is buried in the southern transept of Dunfermline Abbey close to the grave of Robert the Bruce. In 1812, Scottish composer Magdalene Stirling named her Charles Bruce Reel after him.[5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c Elgin, 1633 Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine at cracroftspeerage.co.uk (Cracroft's Peerage online). Retrieved 23 October 2012
2. ^ John Birnie; William Barclay Turnbull (1838). Families of Broomhill. Edinburgh Printing Co. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
3. ^ "Archibald Roberton". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
4. ^ Chesher, Susan; Foster, Linda; Hogben, Laurence (1979). A Short History of the Villages: Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir. Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir Community Council.
5. ^ "Honorable Charles Bruce (The)". Traditional Tune Archive. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2021.

Masonic offices

Preceded by

The Earl of Leven

|  Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland
1761 - 1763  | Succeeded by

The Earl of Kellie

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by

Charles Bruce

|  Earl of Elgin
1747-1771  | Succeeded by

William Bruce

Preceded by

William Bruce

|  Earl of Kincardine
1740-1771

Authority control

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

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