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Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford

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The Duke of Bedford

Tenure7 September 1700 – 26 May 1711
SuccessorWriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke
Other titles2nd Marquess of Tavistock
6th Earl of Bedford
6th Baron Russell
4th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh
2nd Baron Howland
Born(1680-11-01)1 November 1680
Died26 May 1711(1711-05-26) (aged 30)
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Howland
IssueWilliam Russell (Aug–Dec 1703)
William Russell (b. 1704)
Rachael Russell
Wriothesley Russell
John Russell
Elizabeth Russell
ParentsWilliam Russell, Lord Russell
Rachel Wriothesley
Quartered arms of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, KG

Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford KG (1 November 1680 – 26 May 1711) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of William Russell, Lord Russell, and his wife Lady Rachel Wriothesley. From 1683 until 1694, he was styled Lord Russell, and from 1695 until his accession in 1700, Marquess of Tavistock.

Russell married the rich heiress Elizabeth Howland, daughter of John Howland of Streatham, on 23 May 1695. Shortly thereafter (13 June 1695), his grandfather, the Duke of Bedford, was created Baron Howland of Streatham to commemorate the marriage. The couple had six children:

On 13 May 1696, Tavistock, as he then was, matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford. Around 1698, he began the construction of the Howland Great Wet Dock on the Thames, on some of his wife's dowry lands in Rotherhithe.

Russell held the offices of Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Middlesex between 1701 and 1711. He was also a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to William III from 1701 to 1702. After William's death, he was invested as a Knight of the Garter on 14 March 1702 and served as Lord High Constable of England for the coronation of Queen Anne.

Russell died in 1711, aged 30, from smallpox and was buried on 30 May 1711 in the 'Bedford Chapel' at St. Michael's Church at Chenies, Buckinghamshire.

References

[edit]
Arms of the Duke of Bedford
  1. ^ The Register of Marriages in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1723-1754. 14 December 1745. Lyttleton held the rank of colonel at the time and was listed as the Hon. Colonel Richard Lyttleton. The marriage was by special licence and performed by Dr Charles Lyttleton, later the Bishop of Carlisle, Lyttleton's brother.
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire
1701–1711
Succeeded by
Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire
1701–1711
Succeeded by
Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex
1701–1711
Succeeded by
Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex
1701–1711
Vacant
Title last held by
The Duke of Ormonde
Lord High Constable of England
1702
Vacant
Title next held by
The Duke of Montagu
Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Bedford
1700–1711
Succeeded by