The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, headed by a Convenor, represents the majority of Scottish chiefs i.e. those who are head of the Name and Arms of their clan or family and who have taken up membership through invitation, with any invitee being recognised in their role by the Lord Lyon.
There are now 135 chiefs who are members of the Standing Council on which our own Chief holds a hereditary seat. The Standing Council has naturally developed close relationships with clan and family associations overseas with valued links with the Scottish Australian Heritage Council (SAHC), the Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada (CASSOC) and, in the US, the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations (COSCA).
NB. Our society, the Clan Carruthers Society (International) headquartered in Scotland, is in membership of all three organisations (SAHC, CASSOC and COSCA).
Outgoing Convenor: Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor Bt
After the sad demise of Donald MacLaren of MacLaren and Achleskine, Chief of MacLaren, the role was taken on by Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor Bt, 24th Chief of that name. Sir Malcolm was commissioned into the Scots Guards in 1979 and served in many parts of the world to include SE Asia whilst on a two-year secondment with 6th Gurkha Rifles. His final appointment in the military was chief of staff of 51 Highland Brigade.
On leaving the army he embarked on a career in landscape photography. As well as photographing his native Scotland, he spent considerable time in Oman and war-torn areas of the world with the HALO trust, a humanitarian mine-clearance charity. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Photographic Society and the Royal Geographical Society.
Lady Fiona MacGregor of MacGregor, wife of the Chief, was present at the Annan Festival in 2024 and the Inauguration of our own chief. A British Broadcaster, she is Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries, one of 33 people in Scotland who serve as the Queen’s personal representative in the country
Incumbent Convenor: Charles, Lord Bruce
However as of July ’25, the office of Convenor of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs will be held by Charles, Lord Bruce, eldest son of the Rt Hon Andrew Douglas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, 37th Chief of that name. According to the information on the Family of Bruce International website, who represent Bruce worldwide:
Charles Bruce (Lord Bruce) is a partner in a family business based in West Fife which was has its origins in the 1570s and is one of the longest-running family businesses in Scotland. Current activities include tourism, hospitality, farming, forestry, property management, sustainable development, and curating an internationally important collection of fine art.
He is active in the not-for-profit sector in Scotland and overseas. His interests include conservation of the built heritage, the fine arts, multiculturalism, education and the Scottish diaspora. He is chairman of the Kolkata Scottish Heritage Trust which is running an urban regeneration project of the Scottish cemetery in Kolkata, India; and a trustee of the Scottish Lime Centre Trust. He is president of The Democracy Forum, a leading policy forum for Asia.
He is a governor of the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland. He is also patron of the Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies, the Japan Society of Scotland and the Association of Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada. He is on the executive board of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. He is President, Dunfermline United Burns Club, the world’s third oldest Burns club. He is on the advisory board of the RAF Benevolent Fund, and also of the International Academic Forum (IAFOR). He was awarded the Paolozzi Gold Medal by The National Galleries of Scotland in 2012 for fundraising.
He was educated at Eton College and the universities of St Andrews where he studied history (MA Hons, 1984) and Dundee where he studied sustainable urban design (MSc , 2013). He has been HM Deputy Lieutenant for Fife since 1997, and a member of the Royal Company of Archers, HM Queen’s Bodyguard for Scotland, Hon. Maj. 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins), Canadian Forces and Hon. Keeper, Keepers of the Quaich.
Dr George Carruthers 4th left, sharing a conversatioin with Charles Lord Bruce to his right, at Broomhall.
However, outwith the close historical links between Bruce and Carruthers, dating back to the time when they were Lords of Annandale and continued during the reigns of Robert the Bruce and his son David II, we are honoured to have had Charles’s support in the successful search for our own chief. During an awards ceremony at Broomhall House, seat of the Family Bruce, our past Convenor Dr George Carruthers approached Lord Bruce and advised him of his plans to find and reinstate a Carruthers chief through the auspices of the Lord Lyon. Charles could not have been more supportive and infact recounted the story during one of his sessions with the Chief’s heirs at a meeting in London. He is an affable and approachable man, a true gentleman who is known for his love and knowledge of history. Accepting that he has his feet firmly planted in the present, he retains a keen eye for the future.
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs have had some great leadership in the past and again will have a safe pair of hands at the helm. We therefore wish both Charles and the SCSC well, going forwards.
The line of the Chiefs of Bruce back to King Robert
In 2022, researchers at Strathclyde University found a distinct genetic marker, carried by descendants of Robert the Bruce’s close relatives. The direct male line of Robert the Bruce died out with David II who passed without issue. David saw his cousin, Sir Thomas Bruce, 1st Baron (feudal) of Clackmannan as the next most senior member of the Bruce line ie a Cadet line off the Royal line, having described him as “dilecto et fideli nostro consanguineo” (our beloved and faithful kinsman). It is from this Clackmannan line that the current chiefs are direct descendants, As such the chiefship was passed down through the male line to the present day Chief of Bruce, Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of Kincardine KT, CD, JP, DL, and Charles Bruce’s father.
For those interested in Scottish history, of which the Family of Bruce are seriously intertwined, a tour of Broomhall House in Fife, built in 1702 is truly well worth a visit. Opening the house in 2013 for public viewing, the decision was made to share in the huge interest internationally in Scottish history & cultural heritage.
Lord Bruce is quoted as saying “I would encourage visitors to extend their curiosity beyond a superficial interest in Scotland and develop a deeper understanding of why it is so important to preserve what we have and hold, for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.
Our heritage is becoming increasingly difficult & expensive to maintain. There is no doubt the climate is changing, and this is having an insidious and damaging effect on our traditional buildings“.
As a former Convenor, I am genuinely proud of our achievements and most certainly the evidence and outcomes now show that taking the often arduous route to find and have a chief confirmed by the Lord Lyon, was certainly the right one. It brought with it international respect and acceptance for our Name that we would not have had without it.
However, I am just as proud to have had the opportunity to speak to Charles about our task and more so for the kind blessing he gave me at the time.
