| The Duke of Bedford | |
| Birth Date: | 25 May 1708 |
| Parents: | Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford Elizabeth Howland |
| Spouse: | Anne Egerton |
| Tenure: | 26 May 1711 – 23 October 1732 |
| Other Titles: | 3rd Marquess of Tavistock 7th Earl of Bedford 7th Baron Russell 5th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh 3rd Baron Howland |
| Duke of Bedford | |
| Successor: | John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford |
Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford (25 May 1708 – 23 October 1732) was an English nobleman and peer. He was the son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford. He was marginally involved in the politics of Hanoverian Succession.[1] [2]
Russell married his sister's stepdaughter, Lady Anne Egerton, daughter of Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgwater, on 22 April 1725. Russell courted Egerton, trying to get Sarah Churchill, Queen Anne's famous favourite, as a go-between, for political reasons, as he has opposed Walpole.
He died in 1732, aged 24 at Corunna, Spain, without issue. He was buried on 14 December 1732 in the 'Bedford Chapel' at St. Michael's Church, Chenies, Buckinghamshire, and his titles passed to his brother, John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
It has been suggested that his marriage had been "purely for show."[3] His widow re-married, had offspring, and ultimately became an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, and thus William, Prince of Wales.[4] In any case, it was clearly more of a marriage about politics, than sex or love.