Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin
| Thomas Bruce | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
2 December 1599 Edinburgh |
| Died | 21 December 1663 (aged 64) |
| Title | Earl of Elgin |
| Other titles |
3rd Lord Kinloss Baron of Whorlton |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Residence | Houghton House |
| Predecessor | Edward Bruce, 2nd Lord Kinloss |
| Successor | Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury and 2nd Earl of Elgin |
| Heir | Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury and 2nd Earl of Elgin |
| Issue | Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury and 2nd Earl of Elgin |
| Parents | Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss and Magdalene Clerk |
Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, 3rd Lord Bruce of Kinloss (1599–1663), of Houghton House in the parish of Maulden in Bedfordshire, was a Scottish nobleman.
Born in Edinburgh in 1599, Thomas Bruce was the second son of Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss by his wife Magdalene Clerk. He succeeded to the Scottish peerage title as 3rd Lord Bruce of Kinlosse in August 1613, aged 13, on the death of his elder brother, Edward Bruce, 2nd Lord Kinloss, killed in a duel with Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset. The family estates included Whorlton Castle and manor given to his father by James I in 1603. King James I granted the wardship of Thomas and the estates to his mother Magdalene, until he came of age at 21.
In 1624 James I granted Bruce Houghton House, near Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Designed by Inigo Jones and built for Mary Sidney Herbert, Dowager Countess of Pembroke it had been reverted to the King by Mary's brother two years after her death in 1621. It became the Bruce family's principal residence for over a century. Charles I later granted him nearby Houghton Park to preserve game for the royal hunt but persistent hunting and hawking by the local Conquest family forced Charles' subsequent intervention.
During Charles I's period of Personal rule, Bruce maintained close relations with the court. He attended the King for his coronation in Scotland in 1633 and the title, Earl of Elgin, was created for him on 21 June 1633.
The year after performing in Thomas Carew's masque, Coelum Britannicum, he graduated Master of Arts from the University of Oxford in 1636. Bruce was invested as a Knight in 1638 at Windsor, along with William Villiers and the Prince of Wales.
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