Title Duke of Bedford Name Wriothesley 2nd | Spouse(s) Elizabeth Howland Died May 26, 1711 | |
 Born 1 November 1680 ( 1680-11-01 ) Tenure 7 September 1700 – 26 May 1711 Other titles 2nd Marquess of Tavistock6th Earl of Bedford6th Baron Russell4th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh2nd Baron Howland Successor Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke Issue William Russell (Aug–Dec 1703)William Russell (b.1704)Rachael RussellWriothesley RussellJohn RussellElizabeth Russell Children Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford Parents Rachel Russell, Lady Russell, William Russell, Lord Russell Siblings Catherine Russell, Rachel Russell Grandparents Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton Nieces Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, Lady Rachel Manners | ||
Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford KG (1 November 1680 – 26 May 1711) 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.