George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury

British peer and politician

George William Frederick Brudenell Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury (20 November 1804 – 6 January 1878), styled Lord Bruce between 1814 and 1821 and Earl Bruce between 1821 and 1856, was a British peer, Liberal politician and courtier.

Born in Lower Grosvenor Street, London, Bruce was the oldest son of Charles Brudenell Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, and his first wife the Hon. Henrietta Hill, oldest daughter of Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick. He was the brother of Ernest Brudenell Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury, and the half brother of Lord Charles Brudenell Bruce. He was baptised at St George's, Hanover Square, with King George III and Queen Charlotte as his godparents. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1838, he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's subsidiary title Baron Bruce. He was appointed Yeomanry Aide to Queen Victoria in 1857 and was invested as a Privy Counsellor in 1859. Ailesbury held political office under Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell as Master of the Horse between 1859 and 1866. On 25 May 1864, he was invested as a Knight of the Garter. He was once again Master of the Horse, this time under William Ewart Gladstone, between 1868 and 1874. third daughter of George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke, in the same church where he was baptised. Brudenell Bruce died in 1878, aged 73, at Lockeridge House, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, and was buried there. Because he had no issue, his titles were inherited by his younger brother, Ernest Brudenell Bruce. The Marchioness of Ailesbury died at 78 Pall Mall, London, in January 1892, aged 78.