Euphemia (Elphinstone) Bruce (1509 - aft. 1547)

Born 11 May 1509 in Elphinstone, East Lothian, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after Nov 1547 after age 38 in Dunblane Cathedral, Dunblane, Stirlingshire, Scotland

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Biography

Euphame (Elphinstone) Bruce is Notable.

Euphame (Elphinstone) Bruce is a member of Clan Elphinstone.

Euphemia Elphinstone, also written Euphame or Eupheme, was born 11 May 1509 and died sometime after 1547. She was a mistress of James Stewart, James V, “King of the Scots,” and the mother of his son Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, born in 1533,^[1] as well as another royal natural child who died in childhood.^[2]

Euphemia was the second daughter of Alexander Elphinstone (born c. 1480, died 9 September 1513, at the Battle of Flodden), created Lord Elphinstone in 1510, and Elizabeth Barlow (Berclay) of Aberdeenshire (c. 1476 – 10 September 1518).^[2] The family was from Elphinstone in Stirling. Euphemia’s brother Alexander, Lord Elphinstone, died at Edinburgh following the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, and is the ancestor of the Elphinstone family.

Some time after 1530 Euphemia became a mistress of King James V of Scotland, who was three years older. The most notable outcome of this relationship was Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, the king's illegitimate son by Euphemia born in 1533. Some sources say that Euphemia had a second illegitimate child by the king, who died in infancy.^[2]

By 1535 Euphemia had married John Bruce of Cultmalindie (c. 1507 – March 1546/7), a descendent of Robert the Bruce. They had at least five children, the best known of whom was Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie, born in 1547.^[2]

Children of John Bruce, 3rd of Cultmalindie and Euphemia Elphinstone

1. Robert Bruce, b. abt 1536
2. Henry Bruce, b. abt 1538
3. James Bruce, b. abt 1540
4. Euphamie Bruce, b. abt 1542
5. Isobel Bruce, m. Robert Fleming
6. Grissell Bruce, m. John Murray
7. Laurence Bruce, 4th of Cultmalindie (1547–1617), the builder of Muness Castle; m. (1) Helen Kennedy (2) Elizabeth Gray

Euphemia, the daughter of a minor noble, married a minor member of the Bruce family, and many consider her only a passing fancy of James V. However, Euphemia’s children and descendants would prove important in the history of the Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands. Her two most significant children, Laurence Bruce and Robert Stewart, and their families would become closely entwined in the Shetland Islands, of which Laurence Bruce was appointed Sheriff by his half-brother. It is said that many people living in Shetland and Orkney today number Euphemia Elphinstone among their ancestors, through either Laurence Bruce or Robert Stewart.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Robertson, Joseph, Inventaires de la Royne d'Ecosse, Bannatyne Club (1863), pg. xxxviii
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Undiscovered Scotland Euphemia Elphinstone

• Fraser, William, Sir, 1816-1898. The Elphinstone family book of the Lords Elphinstone, Balmerino and Coupar. (With plates, including portraits, facsimiles, and genealogical tables.) Edinburgh, 1897.
• Wikipedia: Euphemia Elphinstone
• Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22

Acknowledgements

• Researched by Sara V Mosher, 2019