Adam Bruce | |
---|---|
Marchmont Herald | |
Assumed office 2012 | |
Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
Preceded by | David Maitland-Titterton |
Unicorn Pursuivant | |
In office 2008–2012 | |
Preceded by | Alastair Campbell of Airds |
Succeeded by | John Malden |
Personal details | |
Born | Adam Robert Bruce 18 January 1968 Edinburgh,Scotland |
Spouse | Maria Sofia Giovanna Rosa Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte (m. 2003) |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
|
Education | Glenalmond College |
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford University of Edinburgh |
Occupation | Solicitor and businessman. |
Adam Robert BruceCStJ WS (born 18 January 1968) is a Scottish solicitor, and businessman who serves as an officer of Arms at the Court of the Lord Lyon.
Bruce was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. [1] He is the youngest son of Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin, and Victoria Usher. [2] He was educated at Glenalmond College. [1] Bruce went up to Balliol College to read history, and while at the University of Oxford he was elected as the President of the Oxford Union in 1989. He also took a law degree at the University of Edinburgh.
Formerly a solicitor with McGrigors in Edinburgh, where he was Director of Public Policy, Bruce now works in the global renewable energy sector, having been UK chief executive of Airtricity and the first Chairman of RenewableUK, formerly the British Wind Energy Association.
Until 2023, he was global head of corporate affairs at Mainstream Renewable Power, [3] and from 2009 to 2015 was a director of the Friends of the Supergrid. [4] In October 2012, he was appointed chairman of the UK Government's Offshore Wind Programme Board. [5] He is currently a vice-Chair of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). [6]
In 2008, Bruce was appointed an officer of arms at the Lyon Court as Unicorn Pursuivant. In April 2012, he was promoted to the position of Marchmont Herald. He was previously Finlaggan Pursuivant (private officer of arms to the Clan Donald), in which role he was installed in 2005 by Godfrey Lord MacDonald. This marked a reinstatement of the traditional MacDonald heraldic role after a break of 510 years. [7]
Bruce is also a Trustee of the St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry and a former Member of the Council of the Society of Writers to HM Signet. [8]
He sits on a number of advisory bodies, including the Development Board of Oxford University's Maths, Physics and Life Sciences Division. He became a Trustee of National Museums Scotland in April 2017 and his term of appointment runs until September 2023. [9]
In 2016, Bruce narrated a three-part series for UCV TV of Chile on the life of his ancestor Admiral Lord Cochrane. [10]
On 17 May 2003, he married Maria Sofia Giovanna Rosa Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte, a younger daughter of the 13th Prince of Belmonte. They live in Edinburgh and have two children. [2]
|
The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation.
Sir Rupert Iain Kay Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Baronet,, Chief of Clan Moncreiffe, was a British Officer of Arms, historian and genealogist.
A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval era, many great nobles employed their own officers of arms. Today, there still exist some private pursuivants that are not employed by a government authority. In Scotland, for example, several pursuivants of arms have been appointed by Clan Chiefs. These pursuivants of arms look after matters of heraldic and genealogical importance for clan members.
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognises under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476. Queen Mary of Denmark is member of Clan Donald.
Sir James Monteith GrantFRHSC (Hon) was Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland from 1969 to 1981.
Sir Malcolm Rognvald Innes of Edingight was Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland from 1981 until 2001.
Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1893–1971) was a Scottish officer of arms who was Lord Lyon from 1945 to 1969.
Carrick Pursuivant of Arms is a Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a current Scottish pursuivant of arms in Ordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms.
A private officer of arms is one of the heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldic and genealogical questions.
Finlaggan Pursuivant of Arms is the private officer of arms of the Clan Donald in Scotland.
George Alexander Way of Plean CStJ is a Scottish Sheriff and former Procurator Fiscal of the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland. In November 2015, it was announced that he was to be the first Scottish Sheriff to be appointed a member of the Royal Household in Scotland as Falkland Pursuivant Extraordinary at the Court of the Lord Lyon. In December 2017, he was promoted to Carrick Pursuivant in Ordinary and then to Rothesay Herald in 2024. In 2020, he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of Brechin. In June 2021, he was appointed as Genealogist of the Priory of Scotland in the Most Venerable Order of St.John.
Heraldry in Scotland, while broadly similar to that practised in England and elsewhere in western Europe, has its own distinctive features. Its heraldic executive is separate from that of the rest of the United Kingdom.
Elizabeth Ann Roads, is a former Scottish herald, an office from which she retired in 2021; in July 2018 she retired as Lyon Clerk at the Court of the Lord Lyon
Ormond Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a current Scottish pursuivant of arms in Ordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
Linlithgow Pursuivant of Arms is a Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
Sir Francis James Grant (1863–1953) was a Scottish officer of arms who eventually rose to the office of Lord Lyon King of Arms. Grant served in the Court of the Lord Lyon as Carrick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary beginning on 17 May 1886. This appointment lasted until his promotion to the office of Rothesay Herald of Arms in Ordinary and Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records on 8 September 1898.
Clan MacEwen or Clan MacEwan is a Scottish clan recorded in the fifteenth century as Clan Ewen of Otter.
The Court of the Lord Lyon, or Lyon Court, is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of genealogies.