Christian Bruce was born on 25 December 1595, the daughter of Edward Bruce, 1st Lord of Kinloss (1548/9-1611).
Her father was in service to James I while King of Scotland, often being sent as an ambassador between James and Elizabeth I; he continued in royal service following James’ accession to the English throne, being made Master of the Rolls.
Christian herself served as companion to Princess Elizabeth, later Queen of Bohemia, from 1604. It appears that Christian was Lord Bruce's only legitimate daughter, and as such, she was destined for a superior match. Her marriage portion was said to be £10,000 - part of which was contributed by James I.
Her husband was to be William Cavendish, later 2nd Earl of Devonshire (1590-1628); they married on 10 April 1608, though it appears the husband was a reluctant bridegroom, promptly departing on an extensive tour of Europe, accompanied by his tutor, Thomas Hobbes.
Christian was only 12 at the time of their marriage, however, she was devoted to her new husband and together they had four children: William, Charles, Henry and Anne.
In 1626 William succeeded his father as Earl of Devonshire, but he died only two years later, on 20 June 1628, ostensibly of over-indulgence; he was succeeded by his eldest son, eleven-year-old William.
Her husband's death catapulted Christian into a very different kind of life. As de facto head of her family, she took great care with her sons' education, keeping Hobbes as their tutor, and sending them on long European tours. More importantly, however, she acted as an able steward of the Cavendish estates.
Her husband had died deeply in debt, and had just succeeded in having Parliament pass an act allowing him to sell his entailed lands. Christian spent many years fighting lawsuits filed by disgruntled creditors, allegedly winning all of them, and managing to keep the Cavendish estates together so that they could be settled on her son, the 3rd Earl.
Christian – as was to be expected – was a firm royalist during the Civil War, though she lost her younger son, Charles, in the battle of Gainsborough in 1643.
In common with many of her contemporaries, this period of her life was highly unstable: Cavendish House, Leicester, her residence since 1638, was looted and burned in 1645; she lived for a time with her brother the Earl of Elgin at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, before purchasing her own estate at Roehampton, Surrey.
She made the property a centre of activity on behalf of the exiled Charles II. Christian was regularly communicating in cipher with other Royalists in both England and Scotland, and General Monck is alleged to have written to her indicating his support for a restoration.
Following the Restoration, the Cavendish family fortunes revived, and Christian presided over a fashionable establishment at Roehampton, welcoming wits, authors, and politicians to her home. John Evelyn was a particular favourite; Edmund Waller dedicated his Epistles to her; and John Donne wrote in her praise.
Her influence on the literati of the Restoration can be evidenced by the fact a biography of her was published not long after her death, in 1685. The Italian visitor Lorenzo Magalotti described her in 1667 as living ‘in a magnificent house in the style of something more than a great princess’ and she was known to entertain Charles II and his mother, Henrietta Maria of France.
She died in Southampton Buildings, Middlesex, aged 79 on 16 January 1675 and was buried in the Cavendish vault in All Saints' Church, Derby:
… a lady above the common strain,
In whom all vertues did United Reign.
(An Elegy on the … Countesse of Devonshire)
