| The Duke of Bedford | |
|---|---|
Portrait taken by Allan Warren |
|
| Born | 24 May 1917 |
| Died | 25 October 2002 (aged 85) |
| Title | Duke of Bedford |
| Tenure | 9 October 1953 - 25 October 2002 (49 years, 16 days) |
| Other titles | 13th Marquess of Tavistock 17th Earl of Bedford 17th Baron Russell 15th Baron Russell of Thornhaugh 13th Baron Howland |
| Successor | Robin Russell, 14th Duke |
| Spouse(s) | Clare Gwendolen Hollway (née Bridgman) |
| Issue | Henry Robin Ian Russell Rudolf Russell |
| Parents | Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell |
John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford (24 May 1917 – 25 October 2002), styled Lord Howland until 1940 and Marquess of Tavistock between 1940 and 1953, was a British peer and writer.
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Bedford was the son of Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford. He endured an extremely strange upbringing. He was often reduced to eating the chocolates put out for his father's beloved parrots.
The 13th Duke was known in his youth as Ian, with the courtesy title Lord Howland. In 1940 his father succeeded to the dukedom and Lord Howland acquired the courtesy title Marquess of Tavistock.
Russell started his career as a rent collector in 1938, in Stepney. He then joined the Coldstream Guards in 1939 and fought in the Second World War between 1939 and 1940, but quit the army after being invalided. He then turned to journalism and was a reporter for the Daily Express in 1940. He published:
He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1985.[1]
Bedford married Clare Gwendolen (née Bridgman) Hollway (1903–1945) on 6 April 1939. She died of a drug overdose in 1945. They had two children:
On 13 February 1947, Lord Tavistock married as his second wife, Lydia Lyle (born 17 October 1917 - died 25 July 2006), daughter of John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston and the former Denise Orme, and widow of Capt. Ian Archibald de Hoghton Lyle (1909–1942), heir to a baronetcy; she had two children by her first marriage. They were divorced in 1960. They had one child:
Bedford married, thirdly, Nicole (Schneider) Milinaire (b. 29 June 1920) on 4 September 1960. There were no children from this marriage.
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hastings Russell |
Duke of Bedford 1953–2002 |
Succeeded by Robin Russell |