Editing Bruce Shand (section)

==Early life==
Shand was born in London into an upper-class family whose ancestors had moved to England from Scotland.<ref>Brandreth, Giles, 2005, ''Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair'', Century Publishing, London, {{ISBN|1-8441-3845-3}}, pp 75-79</ref>

He was the only son of [[Philip Morton Shand]] (1888–1960), an architectural writer and critic (from his first marriage). His father was a close friend of [[Walter Gropius]] and [[Le Corbusier]] and whose company, ''Finmar'', imported furniture by [[Alvar Aalto]] to the United Kingdom. His mother was [[Edith Marguerite Harrington]] (1893–1981), later Mrs. [[Herbert Charles Tippet]].

His parents divorced when he was three years old. His father went on to remarry three times. Shand did not see his father again until he was 18.  One of his two half-sisters was [[Elspeth Howe, Baroness Howe of Idlicote|Baroness Howe of Idlicote]], wife of former [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] and [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Geoffrey Howe|Lord Howe of Aberavon]].<ref name="Major Bruce Shand">[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jun/22/guardianobituaries.mainsection2 Major Bruce Shand, The Guardian: Bruce Shand]</ref>

Shand's mother remarried [[Herbert Charles Tippet]], a golf course designer. Contrary to some newspaper reports, young Shand was not abandoned by his mother and stepfather but was taken to live with them in Westbury, Long Island, New York, in 1921. He left out this fact from his [[autobiography]], giving the erroneous impression of having been abandoned.

After visiting England in June 1923, Bruce and his mother returned to the US in September 1923 with the stated intent (according to US immigration records) of residing permanently in the United States and taking US citizenship.  When he next returned to Britain it was to begin his education, organised and paid for by his grandparents. His mother and stepfather returned to Britain in 1927, then moved to Ireland in the 1930s.  His stepfather died at [[Rye, Sussex|Rye]] in 1947 and his mother died in [[Cooden Beach]], Sussex, in 1981.<ref name="Obituaries: Major Bruce Middleton Shand"/><ref name="Major Bruce Shand"/>

Shand was sent to France to learn French. He was educated at [[Rugby School|Rugby]] and [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] and was commissioned into the [[12th Royal Lancers|12th Lancers]] as a [[second lieutenant]] on 28 January 1937.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34364|page=620|date=29 January 1937}}</ref> He became a troop leader in "A" Squadron.  His interests included [[fox hunting]], [[polo]] and reading.<ref name="Obituary: Bruce Shand">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5052478.stm Obituary: Bruce Shand, BBC News : Bruce Shand]</ref>