Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford

{{Short description|English nobleman and peer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox noble

|name =The Duke of Bedford

|image =Russell arms.svg

|image_size =100px

|caption =Arms of the Duke of Bedford

|birth_date ={{Birth date|1708|5|25|df=y}}

|death_date ={{death date and age|1732|10|23|1708|5|25|df=y}}

|parents =Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford
Elizabeth Howland

|spouse =Anne Egerton

|issue =

|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

|title =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.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9oO1CwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Wriothesley+Russell,+3rd+Duke+of+Bedford%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA260|page=260|title=The Hanoverian Succession:Dynastic Politics and Monarchical Culture|first1=Andreas |last1=Gestrich|first2=Michael |last2=Schaich|year=2016|isbn=9781317029328|publisher=Taylor & Francis|access-date=5 February 2024}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ye1bDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Wriothesley+Russell,+3rd+Duke+of+Bedford%22+-wikipedia&pg=PT501|title=The Favourite: The Life of Sarah Churchill and the History Behind the Major Motion Picture|first=Ophelia |last=Field |isbn=9781474605366|date=2018|access-date=5 February 2024}}

File:Lady Anne Egerton by Enoch Seeman.jpg

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."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WyiqglkpIU8C&dq=%22Wriothesley+Russell,+3rd+Duke+of+Bedford%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA297|title=Cassandra Brydges, Duchess of Chandos, 1670-1735: Life and Letters|first=Cassandra |last=Willoughby Brydges |year=2007|page=297|isbn=9781843833420 |publisher=Boydell Press|editor=Rosemary O'Day|access-date=5 February 2024}} His widow re-married, had offspring, and ultimately became an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, and thus William, Prince of Wales.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0W1pAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Wriothesley+Russell,+3rd+Duke+of+Bedford%22+-wikipedia|page=57|title=The Ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales: For Twelve Generations|first=Richard K. |last=Evans |year=2007|isbn=9780880822084|publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society|access-date=5 February 2024}} In any case, it was clearly more of a marriage about politics, than sex or love.