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His Grace  The Duke of Bedford  KG, PC, LLD, FSA
The Duke of Bedford by George Hayter.
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office 12 March 1806 – 11 April 1807
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	The Lord Grenville
Preceded by	The Earl of Powis
Succeeded by	The Duke of Richmond
Born	6 July 1766 (1766-07-06)
Died	20 October 1839 (1839-10-21) Doune, Perthshire
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	(1) Hon. Georgiana Byng (d. 1801) (2) Lady Georgiana Gordon (1781-1853)

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, LLD, FSA (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician and notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the father of Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell.

Background

Bedford was a younger son of Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock, eldest son and heir of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. His mother was Lady Elizabeth, youngest child of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and Lady Anne Lennox.

Political career

Like most Russells, Bedford was a Whig in politics. He sat as Member of Parliament for Tavistock from 1788 to 1790, and served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Whig government of 1806–1807. He became, as did many of his party who were strong followers of Bonapartism, opposed to the Peninsular War, believing that it neither could nor should be won. He funded, along with his son, many anti-war publications. Bedford was sworn of the Privy Council in 1806 and appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1830.

Family

Bedford married firstly the Hon. Georgiana Byng, daughter of George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington, in 1786. They had three sons:

• Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford
• Lord George Russell
• Lord John Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and grandfather of philosopher Bertrand Russell.

After Georgiana's early death in October 1801, Bedford married secondly Lady Georgina, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, in 1803. They had ten children, including:

• Lady Georgiana Elizabeth Russell (d. 22 March, 1867), married Charles Romilly and had issue
• Reverend Lord Wriothesley Russell (11 May 1804 – 6 April 1886), married Elizabeth Russell, his second cousin once removed, died without issue
• Admiral Lord Edward Russell (24 April 1805 – 21 May 1887), married Mary Ann Taylor and died without issue
• Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles James Fox Russell (10 February 1807 – 29 June 1894), married Isabella Davies and had issue
• Lady Louisa Jane Russell (8 July 1812-31 Mar 1905), married James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn and had issue
• General Lord Alexander Russell (16 September 1821 – 10 January 1907), married Anne Holmes and had issue
• Lady Rachel Evelyn Russell (1826 – 21 February 1898), married Lord James Butler and had issue.

The Duchess of Bedford was a great patroness of the arts, and had a long standing relationship with the painter Sir Edwin Landseer, a man twenty years her junior. However the Bedfords' marriage was considered to be a very happy one.^[1] Bedford died in October 1839, aged 73, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Francis. The Duchess of Bedford died in February 1853, aged 71.

Notes

Georgina, Duchess of Bedford, 2nd wife of the 6th Duke of Bedford

1. ^ Trethewey, Rachel. Mistress of the Arts: the Passionate Life of Georgina, Duchess of Bedford. Headline Books 2003. ISBN 0-7472-5503-2
2. ^ "Author Query". International Plant Names Index. http://www.ipni.org/ipni/authorsearchpage.do.  

References

• thePeerage.com