Bruce Murray, 12th Duke of Atholl

Last updated

The Duke of Atholl
Coat of Arms of George Iain Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl.svg
Coat of arms of the Duke of Atholl
Preceded by John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl
Personal details
Born
Bruce George Ronald Murray

(1960-04-06) 6 April 1960 (age 63)
Louis Trichardt, South Africa
Parents
Residence(s)Louis Trichardt, South Africa

Bruce George Ronald Murray, 12th Duke of Atholl OStJ (born 5/6 April 1960), is a South African-born hereditary peer in the Peerage of Scotland and Chief of Clan Murray. [1] As Duke of Atholl, he has the right to raise Europe's only legal private army, the Atholl Highlanders, a unique privilege granted to his family by Queen Victoria after visiting Blair Atholl in 1844. [2]

Contents

Early life and career

The elder son of John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, and Margaret Yvonne ( née Leach), now styled the Dowager Duchess of Atholl, [3] [4] graduated from Jeppe High School for Boys Johannesburg in 1979. He was educated at Saasveld Forestry College before serving his two years' National Service with the South African Infantry Corps. [1] He is currently a volunteer member of the Transvaal Scottish Regiment, holding the rank of lieutenant. [4] Previously, he managed a tea plantation, but then ran a signage business producing signs for commercial buildings. [5] [6] He was commissioned into the Atholl Highlanders in 2000, [1] [7] being appointed as lieutenant colonel. [8] Upon the death of his father on 15 May 2012, he succeeded to all his father's titles, becoming the 12th Duke of Atholl. [2] [9]

Marriages and children

The Duke first married on 4 February 1984, in Johannesburg, to Lynne Elizabeth Andrew (born Johannesburg, 7 June 1963), daughter of Nicholas George Andrew of Bedfordview, South Africa (born Brighton, East Sussex, June 1939) and wife Evelyn Donne de Villiers, [3] and they divorced in 2003. Together they had three children, two sons and one daughter: [3] [4] [10] [11] [12] [13]

He married secondly Charmaine Myrna du Toit in 2009, without issue.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Abercorn</span> Title in the Peerage of Ireland

The title Duke of Abercorn is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and the Duke also bears four titles in Peerage of Scotland and two in the Peerage of Great Britain, and is one of only three peers who have titles in those three peerages. The Duke of Abercorn also claims the French title of Duke of Châtellerault, created in 1548.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Atholl</span> Title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray

Duke of Atholl, named for Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male of his father, the 1st Marquess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquess of Ailsa</span> Title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassilis. The title Earl of Cassilis had been created in 1509 for the 3rd Lord Kennedy. This title had been created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1457. The 1st Marquess had been created Baron Ailsa in the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 12 November 1806.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Dunmore</span>

Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Lovat</span> Scottish nobility title

Lord Lovat is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lord Lovat. It was a separate title from the Scottish feudal lordship of Lovat, already held by the highland Frasers. In 1837 they were created a third title, Baron Lovat, of Lovat in the County of Inverness, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The holder is separately and independently the Chief of the highland Clan Fraser of Lovat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Leeds</span> Dukedom in the Peerage of England

Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as 2nd Baronet, of Kiveton (1647) and been created Viscount Osborne, of Dunblane (1673), Baron Osborne, of Kiveton in the County of York and Viscount Latimer, of Danby in the County of York, Earl of Danby, in the County of York (1674), and Marquess of Carmarthen (1689). All these titles were in the Peerage of England, except for the viscountcy of Osborne, which was in the Peerage of Scotland. He resigned the latter title in favour of his son in 1673. The Earldom of Danby was a revival of the title held by his great-uncle, Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby.

Francis Ronald Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland, known as Francis Ronald Egerton until 2000, is a British peer from the Egerton family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl</span>

John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, was a South African-born hereditary peer of the Peerage of Scotland, hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Murray, and Colonel-in-Chief of the Atholl Highlanders. As Duke of Atholl, he commanded the only legal private army in Europe. He acceded as the 11th duke on 27 February 1996, succeeding his second cousin, once removed, The 10th Duke of Atholl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atholl Highlanders</span> Scottish private military unit

The Atholl Highlanders is a Scottish private infantry regiment. A ceremonial unit, it acts as the personal bodyguard to the Duke of Atholl, chieftain of the Clan Murray, a family that has lived in Perthshire for roughly seven centuries. Although it has no official military role, this hand-picked body of local men are armed with Lee–Metford rifles, and the regiment includes a pipe band. Joining the Highlanders is by invitation-only from the Duke, who specially selects men with ties to the estate or the local area. The regiment is not part of the British Armed Forces but under the command of the Duke of Atholl, and based at Blair Castle, Blair Atholl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair Castle</span> Country house in Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, UK

Blair Castle stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current (12th) Duke, Bruce Murray, lives in South Africa. The castle stands in Glen Garry, and commands a strategic position on the main route through the central Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans</span> English duke

Murray de Vere Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans,, styled Earl of Burford from 1964 until 1988, is an English duke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl</span> Scottish noble

George Augustus Frederick John Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl, was a Scottish peer, important landowner, and freemason.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Murray</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants of the Morays of Bothwell, the Murrays of Tullibardine, secured the chiefship of the clan and were created Earls of Tullibardine in 1606. The first Earl of Tullibardine married the heiress to the Stewart earldom of Atholl and Atholl therefore became a Murray earldom in 1626. The Murray Earl of Atholl was created Marquess of Atholl in 1676 and in 1703 it became a dukedom. The marquess of Tullibardine title has continued as a subsidiary title, being bestowed on elder sons of the chief until they succeed him as Duke of Atholl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Stewart</span> Scottish clan

Clan Stewart (Gaelic: Stiùbhart) is a Scottish Highland and Lowland clan. The clan is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon; however, it does not have a Clan Chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because the clan has no chief it can be considered an armigerous clan; however, the Earls of Galloway are now considered to be the principal branch of this clan, and the crest and motto of The Earls of Galloway's arms are used in the Clan Stewart crest badge. The Court of the Lord Lyon recognises two other Stewart/Stuart clans, Clan Stuart of Bute and Clan Stewart of Appin. Clan Stuart of Bute is the only one of the three clans at present which has a recognised chief.

Sir David Baird, 2nd Baronet, of Newbyth was a British baronet and captain in the British army.

Brigadier General James Bruce Jardine was a British soldier and diplomat. He earned the rank of Brigadier-General in the service of the 5th Lancers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cameron of Fassiefern</span>

Colonel John Cameron of Fassiefern (1771–1815) of Fassiefern, Inverness-shire, was a celebrated Scottish military commander of the Napoleonic wars. He was a cousin of the Camerons of Lochiel.

William Murray, 2nd Lord Nairne was a Scottish peer and Jacobite who fought in the Rising of 1715, after which he was attainted and condemned to death for treason, but in 1717 he was indemnified and released.

Frances Julia Percy, Duchess of Northumberland was the second wife of Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, and the mother of the 3rd and 4th Dukes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Three Generations of the Atholl family to be on parade at Blair Castle – website VisitScotland Perthshire
  2. 1 2 "The Duke of Atholl". The Daily Telegraph . 17 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Information on Murray, Bruce George Ronald Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine – website Royal Genealogy Page of the Department of Computer Science, University of Hull
  4. 1 2 3 Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 133.
  5. KAOXA'S SHELTER, THE DIGGING STICK, Volume 17, No 1 ISSN 1013-7521 April 2000, Acknowledgements Archived 15 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine – website of the South African Archaeological Society
  6. Local Marquess presents colours to Her Majesty – www.zoutnet.co.za
  7. Clan & Septs Archived 23 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine – website of the Clan Murray Society
  8. Highlander’s Visit (5/29 – 6/7) Archived 30 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine – website of the Atholl 250th Anniversary Committee
  9. John Murray, the 11th Duke of Atholl, dies in South Africa Archived 20 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine – website of The Courier
  10. Dukes of Atholl Archived 26 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine – website of Cracroft's Peerage
  11. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage
  12. "Amanda-M-Du-plessis – User Trees – Genealogy.com". Familytreemaker.genealogy.com. 12 February 1944. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  13. "South African Settlers". South African Settlers. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Arms of George Iain Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl.svg
Duke of Atholl

2012present
Incumbent
Order of precedence in England and Wales
Preceded by Gentlemen
The Duke of Atholl
Succeeded by
Order of precedence in Scotland
Preceded by Gentlemen
The Duke of Atholl
Succeeded by
Order of precedence in Northern Ireland
Preceded by Gentlemen
The Duke of Atholl
Succeeded by