Savernake
Estate, with its 4,500 acres of the only privately owned forest in Britain and
grand stone Grade 1 listed palladium mansion sounds like the ideal place to
live. A childhood surrounded by stunning scenery, opulent landscapes and a
historical family heritage may appear to be the perfect setting but the reality
for Bo Bruce was far from the idyllic state people assume it would have been. “All
that was affluent and impressive was just face you know. All these tragic
things are happening against massive backdrops; that’s the only way I can
describe it. The horror scene that might happen on a side street in Eastenders
was happening in our world but with a different backdrop.”
When
Bo was first exposed to the British public on The Voice last year people soon
learnt that even though she had a title, Lady Catherine Brudenell-Bruce, and came from
aristocratic heritage that trouble didn’t find it’s ways into her home. “It doesn’t
matter where you come from, the most terrible things happen to anyone and
everyone. All I know is that’s true no matter where you come from and people
are beginning to get that, but yeah there were definitely people who where like
‘how can anything bad happen to you when the back drop was so impressive?”
Born
in 1984 to the Earl of Cardigan David Brudenell-Bruce and Rosamond Winkley, Bo was
brought up on Savernake Estate but an ideal childhood crumbled around her, much
like the 19th Century Lodge her father now lives in is reportedly
crumbling around him. Last year Bo took out a restraining order against her
father and now isn’t allowed to legally talk about him, her voice drops to
barely more than a whisper as she address this point. “I’m not
officially allowed to utter a word about my dad. I just can’t.” As Bo stays quiet on the matter her father
hasn’t been quite so discreet and has given several interviews about his
daughter but never once alluded to what lead up to the separating of their
relationship. His troubles with his children, Bo’s brother Thomas James
Brudenell-Bruce - Viscount
Savernake, who is also estranged from his father, isn’t
the only battle he is facing at the moment. He is currently engaged in a long
running battle with the trustees of the estate that has included being taken to
court twice charged with criminal damage, theft and assault although he has
never been convicted.
