Duke of Bedford

For the first time (1414) the title of Duke of Bedford was given to the third son of the English king Henry IV , John Plantagenet (1389-1435), a prominent figure in the Hundred Years War, regent of France since 1422. His widow, Jacket of Luxembourg , married Earl Rivers and bore him a daughter, Elizabeth Woodville , wife of Edward IV and grandmother of Henry VIII .

The title of the Duke of Bedford passed first ( 1469 ) to George Neville, the nephew of the “king-maker” Warwick , who, however, was soon again deprived of the title. Following this, Henry VII bestowed on the dukes of Bedford (1485) his uncle Jasper Tudor , who brought him victory at Bosworth . After him there was no offspring to whom the ducal title could be transferred.

The ducal title was restored only after 200 years, in ( 1694 ) in favor of the Russell House, whose head had been Earl of Bedford since 1550 . Representatives of this house were involved in the construction of the Bloomsbury quarter of London, where their names are many squares, including Bedford Square and Russell Square . Of this kind came, in particular, Prime Minister John Russell and the thinker Bertrand Russell .

The house of the Bedford dukes from the Russell family continues to this day. The current title holder is Andrew Iain Henry Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford (born 1962), heir to Henry Robin Charles Russell, Marquis Tavistock, born June 7, 2005.

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

• John Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (1389-1435), third son of King Henry IV of England

Other titles: Earl of Kendel (1414) and Earl of Richmond (1433)

• John Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (1389-1435), third son of King Henry IV of England. He died without leaving offspring.

Other titles: Marquis of Montague ( 1470 ) and Baron Montague ( 1461 )

• George Neuville, 1st Duke of Bedford ( 1461 - 1483 ), son of John Neville, Marquis of Montague, and nephew of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ("The Maker of Kings"). In 1478 he was stripped of his title and estates.

• George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford ( 1477 - 1479 ), third son of King Edward IV of England, died in infancy

Other titles: Earl of Pembroke (1452)

• Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford ( 1431 - 1495 ), uncle of the King of England Henry VII Tudor. He received the title a few months after his nephew entered the royal throne. He died childless.

Other titles: Baron Russell ( 1539 )

• 1551 - 1555 - John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (c. 1485-1555), close adviser to Kings Henry VIII and Edward VI
• 1555 - 1585 - Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (1527-1585), son of the 1st Earl of Bedford
  • Edward Russell, Lord Russell (1551-1572), the eldest son of the 2nd Earl of Bedford
  • John Russell, 3rd Baron Russell (c. 1553-1584), second son of the 2nd Earl of Bedford
  • Francis Russell, Lord Russell (c. 1554-1585), third son of the 2nd Earl of Bedford
• 1585 - 1627 - Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford (1572-1627), son of Francis, Lord Russell

Other titles (starting with Count 4): Baron Russell of Thornhau (1603)

• 1627 - 1641 - Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford (1593-1641), cousin of the 3rd Earl of Bedford and son of Lord William Russell of Thornhau (fourth son of the 2nd Earl of Bedford)
• 1641 - 1700 - William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford (1616-1700), the eldest son of the 4th Earl of Bedford. In 1694 he received the title of Duke of Bedford
  • Francis Russell, Lord Russell (1638–1679), the eldest son of the 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford
  • William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), second son of the 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford

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

• 1694 - 1700 - William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford (1616-1700), 5th Earl of Bedford and eldest son of Frances Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford
  • Francis Russell, Lord Russell (1638–1679), the eldest son of the 1st Duke of Bedford
  • William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), second son of the 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford, father of the 2nd Duke of Bedford
• 1700 - 1711 - Rayesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Russell (1680-1711), the only son of William Russell, Lord Russell and grandson of the 1st Duke of Bedford
  • William Russell, Marquis of Tavistock (1703), the eldest son of the 2nd Duke, died in infancy
  • William Russell, Marquis of Tavistock (1704–1707), second son of the 2nd Duke of Bedford, died in childhood

• 1711 - 1732 - Rayesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford (1708-1732), third son of the 2nd Duke of Bedford, died childless
• 1732 - 1771 - John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (1710-1771), fourth son of the 2nd Duke of Bedford
  • John Russell, Marquis of Tavistock (1732-1732), the eldest son of the 4th Duke of Bedford, died in infancy
  • Francis Russell, Marquis of Tavistock (1739-1767), second son of the 4th Duke of Bedford, father of the 5th and 6th Dukes
• 1771 - 1802 - Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765-1802), eldest son of Francis Russell, Marquis of Tavistock, died childless
• 1802 - 1839 - John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766-1839), second son of Francis Russell, Marquis of Tavistock
• 1839 - 1861 - Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (1788-1861), eldest son of the 6th Duke of Bedford

• 1861 - 1872 - William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford (1809-1872), the only son of the 7th Duke, single and childless
• 1872 - 1891 - Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford (1819–1891), eldest son of Major General Lord George Russell , second son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford

• 1891 - 1893 - George William Francis Saskville Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford (1852-1893), the eldest son of the 9th Duke, died childless
• 1893 - 1940 - Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Russell (1858-1940), second son of the 9th Duke of Bedford
• 1940 - 1953 - Hastings William Saskville Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford (1888-1953), the only son of the 11th Duke of Bedford
• 1953 - 2002 - John Iain Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford (1917-2002), the eldest son of the 12th Duke of Bedford
• 2002 - 2003 - Henry Robin Iain Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford (1940-2003), the eldest son of the 13th Duke of Bedford
• 2003 - present - Andrew Iain Henry Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford (born 1962 ), eldest son of the 14th Duke of Bedford
• Heir: Henry Robin Charles Russell, Marquis of Tavistock (born 2005 )

• Earl Bedford

• Bedford, ducal title // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• John 13th Duke of Bedford. Born in a shirt . - M .: "Zakharov", 2001. (information about the publication)