Elizabeth Anne, Lady William Russell (2 October 1793 – 10 August 1874) was the wife of

Lord George Russell Major-General Lord George William Russell (8 May 1790 – 16 July 1846) was a British soldier, politician and diplomat. He was the second son of the 6th Duke of Bedford and brother to John Russell, the Whig and Liberal Prime Minister. His ch ...

and a well-known

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

Early life

Elizabeth Anne Theophila Rawdon was born on 2 October 1793, child of Frances (''née'' Hall-Stevenson) and Captain the Hon. John Theophilus Rawdon (died 1808), the brother of

Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, (9 December 175428 November 1826), styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762, Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783, The Lord Rawdon from 1783 to 1793 and The Earl of Moira b ...

. She was baptised at St Mary, Staines, Middlesex, on 4 October 1793. She spent much of her childhood in Europe, particularly Vienna and 'received an education more suited to a boy than a girl' at that time, including a deep knowledge of French, German, Spanish, and Italian, Greek and Latin as well as botany, astronomy and classical literature.

Adult life

Elizabeth Anne Rawdon married Lord George Russell on 21 June 1817. A beautiful and energetic cosmopolitan who had enjoyed a broad

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an education,

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

praised her in '' Beppo'' as ''" newhose bloom could, after dancing, dare the dawn"''. However, her outspoken

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

sympathies won her few friends among her husband's

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

circle.

Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

described her as ''that accursed woman''. She and Russell had three sons, all of whom she tutored at home, perhaps lending them a rather distinctive approach to life: *

Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford KG (16 October 1819 – 14 January 1891) was an English politician and agriculturalist. Life Known as Hastings, the 9th Duke was born in Curzon Street, London, the son of Major-General Lo ...

; *

Lord Arthur John Edward Russell Lord Arthur John Edward Russell (13 June 1825 – 4 April 1892) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was born in London on 13 June 1825. He was the second of three sons of Major-General Lord George William Russell and Elizabeth Anne Raw ...

; *

Odo Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill, (20 February 182925 August 1884), styled Lord Odo Russell between 1872 and 1881, was a British diplomat and the first British Ambassador to the German Empire. Background and education Russell w ...

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

said in conversation, ''I think she is the most fortunate woman in England, for she has the three nicest sons.'' She died on 10 August 1874.

Commemoration

A biography of Elizabeth, Lady William Russell was published by the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

in December 2020.

Bibliography

References

1793 births 1874 deaths English socialites Wives of knights Wives of younger sons of peers {{UK-noble-stub