Duke of Bedford

Dukedom of Bedford
Argent, a lion rampant gules on a chief sable three escallops of the first (Russell).[1]
Creation date	11 May 1694
Creation	Sixth
Created by	William III and Mary II
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford
Present holder	Andrew Russell, 15th Duke
Heir apparent	Henry Russell, Marquess of Tavistock
Remainder to	1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Marquess of Tavistock Earl of Bedford Baron Russell Baron Russell of Thornhaugh Baron Howland
Seat(s)	Woburn Abbey

Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. In 1433 he surrendered the title and it was re-granted to him. The title became extinct on his death in 1435. The third creation came in 1470 in favour of George Neville, nephew of Warwick the Kingmaker. He was deprived of the title by Act of Parliament in 1478. The fourth creation came in 1478 in favour of George, the third son of Edward IV. He died the following year at the age of two. The fifth creation came in 1485 in favour of Jasper Tudor, half-brother of Henry VI and uncle of Henry VII. He had already been created Earl of Pembroke in 1452. However, as he was a Lancastrian, his title was forfeited between 1461 and 1485 during the predominance of the House of York. He regained the earldom in 1485 when his nephew Henry VII came to the throne and was elevated to the dukedom the same year. He had no legitimate children and the titles became extinct on his death in 1495.

John Russell, a close adviser of Henry VIII and Edward VI, was granted the title of Earl of Bedford in 1551, and his descendant William, 5th Earl, was created Duke in 1694, following the Glorious Revolution. The Russell family currently holds the titles of Earl and Duke of Bedford.

The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Bedford, all in the Peerage of England, are Marquess of Tavistock (created 1694), Earl of Bedford (1550), Baron Russell, of Cheneys (1539), Baron Russell of Thornhaugh in the County of Northampton (1603), and Baron Howland, of Streatham in the County of Surrey (1695). The courtesy title of the Duke of Bedford's eldest son and heir is Marquess of Tavistock.

Every Duke from the 5th Duke onwards is descended from Charles II of England. The family seat is Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire. The private mausoleum and chapel of the Russell Family and the Dukes of Bedford is at St. Michael's Church in Chenies, Buckinghamshire (photo).^[2] The family owns The Bedford Estate in central London.

Other titles: Earl of Kendal (1414) and Earl of Richmond (1414)

• John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (1389–1435), third son of Henry IV

Other titles: Earl of Kendal (1414) and Earl of Richmond (1414)

• John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (1389–1435), regranted his dukedom with the standard remainder,^[3] died without issue

Other titles: Marquess of Montagu (1470) and Baron Montagu (1461)

• George Neville, Duke of Bedford (1457–1483), nephew of Warwick the Kingmaker, succeeded as Marquess of Montagu and Baron Montagu in 1471, deprived of all of his honours in 1478

• George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford (1477–1479), third son of Edward IV, died in infancy

Other titles: Earl of Pembroke (1452)

• Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (1431–1495), uncle of Henry VII, regained his earldom a few months after his nephew's accession. He died without legitimate issue.^[4]

Other titles: Baron Russell (1539)

• John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485–1555), a close advisor of Henry VIII, was later created Earl of Bedford, by then a close advisor of Henry's son Edward VI, was further honoured by him
• Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (1527–1585), son of the 1st Earl
  • Edward Russell, Lord Russell (1551–1572), eldest son of the 2nd Earl
  • John Russell, 3rd Baron Russell (c. 1553–1584), second son of the 2nd Earl, summoned to Parliament by writ of acceleration
  • Francis Russell, Lord Russell (c. 1554–1585), third son of the 2nd Earl
  • William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh (c.1557–1613), fourth son of the 2nd Earl
• Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford (1572–1627), son of Francis, Lord Russell

Other titles (4th Earl onwards): Baron Russell of Thornhaugh (1603)

• Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford (1593–1641), cousin of the 3rd Earl and son of Lord Russell of Thornhaugh (fourth son of the 2nd Earl)
• William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford (1616–1700), eldest son of the 4th Earl, was created Duke of Bedford in 1694
  • Francis Russell, Lord Russell (1638–1679), eldest son of the 5th Earl, died unmarried
  • Rt. Hon. William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), second son of the 5th Earl, father of the 2nd Duke,^[5] was attainted and executed in 1683

John Russell was born c. 1485 probably at Berwick-by-Swyre, Dorset, the son of Sir James Russell (d. Nov. 1505)^[6] and his first wife Alice Wyse, daughter of Thomas Wyse of Sidenham, near Tavistock, Devon.^[7] James's father was possibly Sir William Russell, but more likely his brother John Russell (d. pre-November, 1505) by his wife Alice Froxmere, daughter of John Froxmere of Droitwich, Worcestershire, because his coat of arms quarters Froxmere.^[8] The elder John Russell was the son of Sir Henry Russell (d. 1463/4), and Elizabeth Herring, daughter of John Herring of Chaldon Herring. Henry, a great-grandfather of the 1st earl, was a substantial wine merchant and shipper, who represented Weymouth in the House of Commons four times.^[9][10]

The Russell pedigree can only be traced back with certainty to Henry Russell's father, Sir Stephen Russell, the evidence being contained in a deed of April 1440^[11] in which Henry Russell made over to his daughter Christina and her husband Walter Cheverell of Chauntemarle, a tenement in Dorchester to be held of himself and his heirs upon the rent of a red rose. In the deed, Henry referred to himself as son and heir of Sir Stephen Russell and of Alice, his wife.^[12] This Alice appears to have been the heir general of the De la Tour family,^[13] which had long owned Berwick-by-Swyre, and by whom therefore the manor was brought into the Russell family.

Both Sir Henry and Sir Stephen were referred to as Gascoigne as well as Russell, possibly due to their wine trade with France (see Gascoigne), as in a 1442 pardon under the Privy Seal referring to Henry Russell of Weymouth, merchant, alias Henry Gascoign, gentleman.^[14] It was long believed in the noble Russell family, certainly by the 2nd Earl of Bedford, that the family was descended from the ancient family of Russell of Kingston Russell in Dorset, three miles north-east of Berwick, which descent was declared unproven by Gladys Scott Thomson in her Two Centuries of Family History, London, 1930, an exhaustive and scholarly work on the early pedigree of the Earls of Bedford.^[15] (For a disambiguation of the Bedford Russells and the Russells of Kingston Russell, see Kingston Russell House.)

Other titles: Marquess of Tavistock (1694), Baron Howland (1695), Earl of Bedford (1551), Baron Russell (1538) and Baron Russell of Thornhaugh (1603)

• William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford (1616–1700), was created Duke of Bedford in 1694, after the Glorious Revolution
  • Francis Russell, Lord Russell (1638–1679), eldest son of the 1st Duke, died unmarried
  • Rt. Hon. William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), second son of the 1st Duke
• Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford (1680–1711), only son of Rt. Hon. William Russell, Lord Russell (whose attainder had been reversed in 1688)
  • William Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (1703), eldest son of the 2nd Duke, died in infancy
  • William Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (1704–c. 1707), second son of the 2nd Duke, died young
• Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford (1708–1732), third son of the 2nd Duke, died without issue
• John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (1710–1771), fourth and youngest son of the 2nd Duke
  • John Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (1732–1732), eldest son of the 4th Duke, died in infancy
  • Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (1739–1767), second son of the 4th Duke and father of the 5th and 6th Dukes
• Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765–1802), eldest son of Lord Tavistock, died without issue
• John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766–1839), second son of Lord Tavistock
• Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (1788–1861), eldest son of the 6th Duke
• William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford (1809–1872), only son of the 7th Duke, died unmarried
• Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford (1819–1891), eldest son of Maj.-Gen. Lord George Russell, second son of the 6th Duke
• George William Francis Sackville Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford (1852–1893), eldest son of the 9th Duke, died without legitimate issue issue.
• Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford (1858–1940), second son of the 9th Duke
• Hastings William Sackville Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford (1888–1953), only son of the 11th Duke
• John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford (1917–2002), eldest son of the 12th Duke
• Henry Robin Ian Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford (1940–2003), eldest son of the 13th Duke
• Andrew Ian Henry Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford (born 1962), eldest son of the 14th Duke

The heir apparent is the present holder's only son Henry Robin Charles Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (b. 2005).

• Baron Russell of Thornhaugh
• Baron de Clifford
• Earl Russell
• Earls of Orford; First creation (1697)
• Baron Ampthill

• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London: London: Dean & son, limited. p. 105.
• Heraldry of the Russell Family Archived 8 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine