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Bruce Family Stories from around the world
While we have absolutely loved learning about the history of the Bruce family, there is nothing quite like reading the stories from members of the family! Today we are taking a look at some of the beautiful ways in which the Bruces around the world celebrate their Scottish heritage...
Mark Bruce
Mark is one of the most passionate Clan Members we have come across during our Clan of the Month series, his enthusiasm for his heritage is unmatched, he even pledged at the beginning of the year to wear his Bruce Modern Kilt once a week, for the whole of 2022. Here is a collection of photos of him wearing his kilt around Scotland.
Recently, his son got his very own Kilt, making him the third generation to wear a Bruce Kilt, and he couldn't be prouder.
As a bairn he loved wearing my first kilt but today he picked up his own kilt from the same company which has now made kilts for three Generations of The Bruce's from Queensferry Scotland. He has chosen the Ancient Bruce the same as his grandfather whereas I wear the modern Bruce, thankfully I love them both, the stitching for his Kilt pleats are still in place hence the reason for the Kilt looking a bit like a pencil skirt. Keith the owner of the kilt shop asked my son "How do you wear the kilt" my son looked a bit puzzled before Keith answered his own question " You always wear a kilt with pride! " never a truer sentence spoken.
If you would like to start a Kilt tradition in your own family, view our collection of authentic and traditional Kilts, made using tartan woven in the Scottish Borders.
Bruce Family History
One of our customers found herself simply fascinated by her friends Bruce family history, here's what she told us...
I found myself immersed in Scottish history when I started researching the family tree of a friend who had been adopted when she was a baby. Valerie had a happy childhood and had not given much thought to tracing her biological family history as she hadn’t felt anything was lacking in her life.It wasn’t long before I found that Valerie’s great grandmother was a titled lady. Once into the aristocracy, genealogy becomes relatively easy as pedigrees are explored when determining the inheritance of titles. As an amateur researcher I hadn’t had much experience in this field. I was soon delving into ancient Scottish titles and managed to trace Valerie’s ancestors to Robert the Bruce and his ancestors who came from Normandy.Not only did I trace Valerie’s ancestors to Scottish royalty, but further research confirmed that she is a 20th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. And to think that Valerie had spent more than half a century not knowing anything at all about her biological heritage. It has been a most exciting journey through time for both of us.
Wow, what an amazing story!
Iain MacGillivray
Although Iain isn't actually a member of the Bruce family, he did recently take a trip that is very connected to our celebrated Clan of the Month. Take a read of his story.
Here in Teba, Spain where the famous story of Sir James Douglas taking the heart of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, to the Holy Land, was slain in battle after encountering Moors. While stationed in Sevilla along with his brigade of Scottish knights, Douglas was persuaded by King Alfonso of Spain to help them fight the Moors and siege the Castillo de las Estrellas (Castle of the Stars) from the Saracens, which they did and won the day.
This is such an epic, remarkable story and a truly monumental landmark location for us Scots and it means so much to the people of Teba, who are so proud of this pivotal event in the history of the Spanish Reconquista.
Jared Bruce
We love a tartan creation, and Jared's daughters project is no different.
When my daughter was in preschool, they sent home construction paper gingerbread men to decorate for the classroom. Here is her artwork, from about ten years ago. We used a scrap of Bruce tartan for the kilt and bits of MacLennan tartan for his bonnet and sporran. Red felt disc for the toorie, red yarn, buttons and brass fasteners for his other features.
Jane Wolfe
So excited & happy to attend the Great Gathering in Edinburgh, 2009. My brother & me at Holyrood Palace Park. Prince Charles had just walked past us!
Interview with Dr Callum Watson, Bannockburn Visitor Centre
It was so fantastic to speak with Battle Coordinator at the Bannockburn Visitor Centre, Dr Callum Watson. While Callum obviously has extensive knowledge on the Battle of Bannockburn through his job, he also researched 'The Bruce' by John Barbour, as part of his PhD, so he has quite the expertise on our Clan of the Month. Watch the interview to hear all his fascinating stories.
Explore Clan Bruce on the ScotlandShop Sofa
Discover more about the powerful Bruce family, in this very special episode of ScotlandShop on the Sofa! Monja and Kalyn delve into the world of the Bruces exploring their origins, famous faces, castles, kings and modern day stories.
There we have it folks! This has been an amazing group of Bruce stories and we always treasure seeing family members in their terrific tartans. Find out more about about the Brucefamily on our Clan page and let us know which Clan you would like to see us celebrate next!
