Aristocratic pop star Bo Bruce has scored a victory over her viscount brother in a bitter High Court battle over their multi-million pound inheritance.
The Voice UK star and her brother, Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, Viscount Savernake, have been embroiled in a decade-long legal dispute over the future of their late mother's Wiltshire estate.
Their mother, Lady Rosamond, the former Countess of Cardigan, died of pancreatic cancer, aged 63, in 2012.
She left her estate to her two children in equal shares following her divorce from David Brudenell-Bruce, the Earl of Cardigan.
The estate included the £2 million six-bedroomed Leigh Hill House on the ancient Savernake Forest estate near Marlborough, which she had received in her divorce from the Earl Cardigan in 2009, and was at the centre of the legal dispute.
But the High Court in London last week heard that ten years after her death, the 40-year-old viscount - who was named administrator of their mother's estate - has still not sold the house and shared the inheritance with his 37-year-old sister, whose real name is Lady Catherine Anna Brudenell-Bruce.
When she signed with Mercury Records in 2012 after finishing as runner-up in the Voice UK, Lady Catherine agreed to step aside as co-executor and allow her brother to administer their mother’s estate.
However, the court heard she changed her mind in 2015 because after three years the house had not been sold and she was in desperate need of money.
She has spent ten years trying to force her brother to sell up or buy her out of the house, where he still lives, but claimed he did nothing.
Ms Bruce sued her brother in the High Court and won - leaving the court to appoint an executor of her late mother's estate and paving the way for her to sell the home and receive her split of the inheritance almost a decade on.
The judge, Deputy Master John Linwood, said the viscount - who wants to buy the house himself and keep it in the family - had 'ignored his responsibilities' to his sister as executor of the will.
The estate has been in the family since it was gifted to the Brudenell-Bruce’s ancestor Richard Estormit by William the Conqueror and has passed down through the generations in an unbroken line ever since.
The 100-roomed Grade-I listed 92,000 square feet Tottenham House near Great Bedwyn was at the centre of the estate but was sold for £11.5m in 2015.
The judge said there had been no agreed valuation of Leigh Hill House, with the most recent suggesting a value of £1.7m, but potentially up to £2.4m if maintenance works are undertaken.
Describing the battle as "an unfortunate case of sibling distrust," Deputy Master Linwood said the “breakdown in relations" meant removing the viscount from his role as executor was necessary.
“I will remove Tom as executor,” he said. “I don't accept that the administration of the estate has been or will in the future be carried out properly.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel