 Charles Granville Bruce was the youngest of the fourteen children of Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare (1815–1895) and Norah Napier (1827–1897).His father was born at Duffryn, Aberdare, attended Swansea Grammar School, and trained as a barrister.In the 1830s, coal was discovered beneath the family's land, and with the development of the industry they became rich.