Marquess of Ailesbury is a title in the
Peerage of the United KingdomThe Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created on 17 July 1821 for
Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Earl of AilesburyCharles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, KT , styled The Honourable Charles Brudenell-Bruce from birth until 1776, Lord Bruce from 1776 to 1814 and The Earl of Ailesbury from 1814 to 1821, was a British peer and politician.-Background:Brudenell-Bruce was the third son of Thomas...
.
On 18 March 1664, the
2nd Earl of ElginRobert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury and 2nd Earl of Elgin, PC, FRS was the son of Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin....
in the
Peerage of ScotlandThe Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
was created
Earl of Ailesbury,
Viscount Bruce, of Ampthill in the County of Bedford, and
Baron Bruce, of Skelton in the County of York, all in the
Peerage of EnglandThe Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
. The 3rd Earl of Ailesbury (and 4th Earl of Elgin) was created
Baron Bruce, of Tottenham in the County of Wilts, on 17 April 1746, in the
Peerage of Great BritainThe Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
, but on his death in 1747, his English titles became extinct, except for the 1746 Barony of Bruce, which was inherited by his nephew
Thomas BrudenellThomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT . The son of George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Hon. Elizabeth Bruce, he succeeded his uncle as 2nd Baron Bruce of Tottenham on the latter's death on 10 February 1747. He changed his name Brudenell by Royal license to Brudenell-Bruce...
, fourth and youngest son of the 3rd Earl of Cardigan, by special remainder. His Scottish titles passed to the
9th Earl of KincardineCharles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and 9th Earl of Kincardine was the son of William Bruce, 8th Earl of Kincardine. His mother was Jane Roberton, daughter of James Roberton and great-granddaughter of advocate and judge Lord BedlayOn 1 June 1759, he married Martha Whyte and they had eight...
.
The
2nd Baron BruceThomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT . The son of George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Hon. Elizabeth Bruce, he succeeded his uncle as 2nd Baron Bruce of Tottenham on the latter's death on 10 February 1747. He changed his name Brudenell by Royal license to Brudenell-Bruce...
, who changed his surname to "Brudenell-Bruce", was then created
Earl of Ailesbury, on 10 June 1776, in the
Peerage of Great BritainThe Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
. The 2nd Earl of Ailesbury was created
Marquess of Ailesbury on 17 July 1821, along with the subsidiary titles
Earl Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, and
Viscount Savernake, of Savernake Forest in the County of Wilts, all in the
Peerage of the United KingdomThe Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. In 1868, the
2nd Marquess of AilesburyGeorge William Frederick Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury KG, PC, DL , styled Lord Bruce between 1814 and 1821 and Earl Bruce between 1821 and 1856, was a British peer, Liberal politician and courtier.-Background and education:Born in Lower Grosvenor Street, London, Bruce was the oldest...
inherited the
Earldom of CardiganEarl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England, currently held by the Marquesses of Ailesbury, and used as a courtesy title by the heir apparent to that Marquessate, currently David Brudenell-Bruce, son of the 8th Marquess.-History of the title:...
, and so the Marquesses of Ailesbury now also hold the titles
Earl of Cardigan (1661) and
Baron Brudenell, of Stanton Wyvill in the County of Leicester (1628), in the
Peerage of EnglandThe Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
, as well as being Baronets of England, styled "of Deene in the County of Northampton".
The county town of
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
to which the title refers is now spelt "
AylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
".
The heir apparent to the Marquessate bears the courtesy title
Earl of Cardigan, and his heir apparent bears the title
Viscount Savernake.
Ever since
Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of AilesburyThomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury and 3rd Earl of Elgin was the son of Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin and Lady Diana Grey. His maternal grandparents were Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford and Lady Anne Cecil, daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter...
succeeded his father in 1685, every Earl and Marquess of Ailesbury has also been a Hereditary Warden of
Savernake ForestSavernake Forest is on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately .It is privately owned by the Trustees of Savernake Estate, the Earl of Cardigan, and his family solicitor. Since 1939 the running of the forest has been...
. This explains the usage of the title
Viscount Savernake within the family. Although not an earl until 1685, Thomas Bruce had already inherited the Wardenship through his marriage to Lady Elizabeth Seymour in 1676, as the Wardenship had previously been in the Seymour family. The current Lord Ailesbury was the 30th such Warden, until he retired in 1987, at which time his son
David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of CardiganDavid Michael James Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan is the heir apparent to the Marquessate of Ailesbury, and its subsidiary titles...
became the 31st Warden.
Coat of arms
The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the marquessate is:
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, or a saltire and chief gules on a canton argent a lion rampant azure (for Bruce); 2nd and 3rd, argent a chevron gules between three chapeaux to the sinister azure (for Brudenell). This can be translated as: a shield divided into quarters, the top left and bottom right golden with a red rectangle above and a red saltire over the top, in the top left of the quarter a white rectangle with a blue lion rampant (for the Bruce family); the top right and bottom left quarters white with a red chevron and three blue caps of state facing right (for the Brudenell family).
Earls of Ailesbury, First Creation (1664)
- Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1627–1685)
- Thomas Bruce, 3rd Earl of Elgin, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (1656–1741)
- Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury
Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury and 4th Earl of Elgin , styled Viscount Bruce of Ampthill from 1685 to 1741, was the son of Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury and Lady Elizabeth Seymour...
(1682–1747)
Barons Bruce (1746)
- Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, 1st Baron Bruce
Charles Bruce, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury and 4th Earl of Elgin , styled Viscount Bruce of Ampthill from 1685 to 1741, was the son of Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury and Lady Elizabeth Seymour...
(1682–1747)
- Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Baron Bruce
Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT . The son of George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Hon. Elizabeth Bruce, he succeeded his uncle as 2nd Baron Bruce of Tottenham on the latter's death on 10 February 1747. He changed his name Brudenell by Royal license to Brudenell-Bruce...
(1739–1814) (created Earl of Ailesbury in 1776)
Earls of Ailesbury, Second Creation (1776)
- Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury
Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT . The son of George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan and Hon. Elizabeth Bruce, he succeeded his uncle as 2nd Baron Bruce of Tottenham on the latter's death on 10 February 1747. He changed his name Brudenell by Royal license to Brudenell-Bruce...
(1729–1814)
- George Bruce-Brudenell, Lord Bruce (1762–1783)
- Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury
Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, KT , styled The Honourable Charles Brudenell-Bruce from birth until 1776, Lord Bruce from 1776 to 1814 and The Earl of Ailesbury from 1814 to 1821, was a British peer and politician.-Background:Brudenell-Bruce was the third son of Thomas...
(1773–1856) (created Marquess of Ailesbury in 1821)
Marquesses of Ailesbury (1821)
- Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury
Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, KT , styled The Honourable Charles Brudenell-Bruce from birth until 1776, Lord Bruce from 1776 to 1814 and The Earl of Ailesbury from 1814 to 1821, was a British peer and politician.-Background:Brudenell-Bruce was the third son of Thomas...
(1773–1856)
- George William Frederick Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury
George William Frederick Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury KG, PC, DL , styled Lord Bruce between 1814 and 1821 and Earl Bruce between 1821 and 1856, was a British peer, Liberal politician and courtier.-Background and education:Born in Lower Grosvenor Street, London, Bruce was the oldest...
(1804–1878)
- Ernest Augustus Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury
Ernest Augustus Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury PC , styled Lord Ernest Bruce from 1821 until 1878, was a British courtier and politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household between 1841 and 1846 and again between 1852 and 1858...
(1811–1886)
- George John Brudenell-Bruce (1839–1868)
- George William Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury
George William Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury , the son of George John Brudenell-Bruce and Lady Evelyn Mary Craven, succeeded his grandfather as 4th Marquess on the latter's death on 18 October 1886...
(1863–1894)
- Henry Augustus Brudenell-Bruce, 5th Marquess of Ailesbury
Henry Augustus Brudenell-Bruce, 5th Marquess of Ailesbury , styled Lord Henry Brudenell-Bruce from 1878 to 1894, was a British soldier, businessman and Conservative politician.-Early life:...
(1842–1911)
- George William James Chandos Brudenell-Bruce, 6th Marquess of Ailesbury
George William James Chandos Brudenell-Bruce, 6th Marquess of Ailesbury DSO TD K.St.J DL JP , styled Earl Bruce between 1894 and 1911, was a British soldier.-Background and education:...
(1873–1961)
- Chandos Sydney Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 7th Marquess of Ailesbury
Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 7th Marquess of Ailesbury MID C.St.J. DL JP , styled Earl Bruce between 1911 and 1961, was a British peer.-Background and education:...
(1904–1974)
- Michael Sydney Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 8th Marquess of Ailesbury
Michael Sydney Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 8th Marquess of Ailesbury , styled Viscount Savernake until 1961 and Earl Bruce between 1961 and 1974, is a British peer. The son of Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 7th Marquess of Ailesbury and Joan Houlton Salter, he succeeded his father as 8th Marquess on the...
(b. 1926)
The
heir apparentAn heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son
David Michael James Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of CardiganDavid Michael James Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan is the heir apparent to the Marquessate of Ailesbury, and its subsidiary titles...
(b. 1952).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, Viscount Savernake (b. 1982).
External links