Marquess of Ailesbury fined for second speeding offence; could face licence disqualification

The Marquess of Ailesbury has been fined after being caught speeding for the second time in a year. David Michael James Brudenell-Bruce, 72, was recorded driving at 26 mph in a 20 mph zone on the A4 Cromwell Road in Kensington, west London, last December, a Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court hearing heard. He did not attend the short hearing.

According to court papers, the Ninth Marquess was behind the wheel of a 1.2‑litre black electric Vauxhall Mokka SUV when the offence occurred. He was charged with exceeding the speed limit and was handed three penalty points on his licence, with the potential for disqualification under the points‑to‑tting rules. He had previously been cited for a speeding offence in May 2024. Bench Chairman David Williams fined him £220, with £130 in costs and an £88 victim surcharge. The DVLA retains the option to inform the court if his licence is liable for disqualification.

Prosecutor Geraldine Dickinson said there could have been relevant points that have now dropped off, limiting the court’s discretion but leaving the guilt established by the December offence. The case underscores a second speeding incident within a year for Brudenell-Bruce, who has held a long‑standing role in Conservative circles and is part of a historic aristocratic lineage.

The Marquess, educated at Eton, has served as Secretary of Marlborough Conservatives since 1985 and has been an executive member of the Devizes Constituency Conservative Association since 1988. His family are descendants of the Seymour line and related to Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII and mother to his only son, King Edward VI. Brudenell-Bruce is the 31st Hereditary Warden of the private Savernake Forest, part of the Savernake Estate, which has passed through the family for 31 generations since 1067 and is currently valued at about £20 million. His formal title was Earl of Cardigan until the death of his father on May 12, 2024, at age 98, with that title passing to his son Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, 43, from his first marriage to the late Rosamond Winkley.

Thomas James Brudenell-Bruce, the heir apparent, has two daughters: Lady Catherine Anna Brudenell-Bruce, 40, known as Bo Bruce, a singer who was a runner-up on The Voice in 2012, and Lady Sophie Brudenell-Bruce, 12, whose mother is American Catherine Powell, now the Marchioness of Ailesbury. The family seat is Tottenham House, a Grade I listed manor in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, which was leased to a U.S. golf consortium in 2006 and later sold for about £11.25 million in 2014; during that period Brudenell-Bruce is said to have resided in an unheated lodge on the estate grounds.

The court proceeding, while narrow in focus, reflects broader questions about driving offences among members of the aristocracy and the enforcement of road rules. The DVLA’s ongoing position on possible licence disqualification will be watched closely by observers and legal analysts alike as the totting‑up process progresses and points age off the Marquess’s driving record.