Томас Брюс, Эйлсбери және Элгин графы: Естеліктер мен саяси өмірден сырлар

English politician and memoirist

Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (later styled Aylesbury) and 3rd Earl of Elgin (26 September 1656 – 16 December 1741), styled Lord Bruce between 1663 and 1685, was an English politician and memoirist. He 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. His Memoirs, which were not published until long after his death, are a valuable source for English history in the last quarter of the seventeenth century.

Lord Bruce was elected member of parliament for Marlborough between 1679 and 1681, and for Wiltshire in 1685. He became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber in 1676. From 1685, when he inherited the earldom, to 1688, he was a Lord of the Bedchamber, Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire (the latter in the absence of the Earl of Sandwich) and was a Page of Honour, at the coronation of King James II on 23 April 1685. He was devoted to Charles II, who remarked on his deathbed "I see you love me dying as well as living"; Bruce wrote later of Charles' death that "Thus ended my happy days at a Court, and to this hour I bewail my loss". He also admired Charles's brother and successor James II, though he was not blind to his faults as a ruler.

Ailesbury seems to have been almost universally liked even by his political opponents, having a reputation for honesty, decency and fair dealing. Charles II was clearly fond of him and confided in him to a degree unusual for such a secretive man; James II also liked him, and Louis XIV regarded him as almost the only British nobleman who was not motivated purely by self interest. Though he changed allegiance himself he had no patience with time servers: he detested Sunderland (while admitting that he was good company) and in 1689 told his cousin Danby that for his treachery to James II he deserved to "be knocked on the head".

Ailesbury devoted many years to writing his Memoirs, which were not published until 1890. Historians have praised them highly, particularly for the vivid portraits of the leading figures in British life, including James II, William III, Danby, Sunderland, Lauderdale and Halifax. Perhaps the most striking feature of the memoirs is the author's absolute devotion to Charles II: "my good and gracious master, the best that ever reigned over us".