Lord Elgin

Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Bruce.

History

The family descended from the Bruces of Clackmannan, whose ancestor was Thomas de Bruys. According to Sir James Balfour Paul, there is no evidence that this branch of the family was descended from Robert the Bruce (King Robert I), despite claims that Thomas was an illegitimate son of the king. However, King Robert's son David II made a grant of land in 1359 to Robert Bruce referring to him as '' dilecto consanguineo suo'' (our beloved cousin). It was generally accepted that Clackmannan branch descended from John de Brus who was a younger son of Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale.

The first earl was succeeded by his son, Robert, who also was created Earl of Ailesbury in the Peerage of England. The two Earldoms continued united until the death of the fourth Earl of Elgin, when the Ailesbury and Baron Bruce (of Whorlton) titles became extinct, and the Elgin title passed to the Earl of Kincardine; the Lordship of Kinloss became dormant. Thereafter, the Earldoms of Elgin and Kincardine have remained united.

The most famous Earl was the 7th Earl, who removed and transported to Britain the so-called Elgin Marbles