Francis Russell, 2nd Earl Of Bedford
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Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford ( – 28 July 1585) of Chenies in Buckinghamshire and of Bedford House in
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
, Devon, was an English nobleman, soldier, and politician. He was a godfather to the Devon-born sailor Sir
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...
. He served as
Lord Lieutenant of Devon The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriffs and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569 there was provision for the appointment of Dep ...
(1584-5).


Early life

Francis was the son of John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford and Anne Sapcote. He was educated at King's Hall, Cambridge and accompanied his father, to sit in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. He represented
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
in parliament in 1545–47 and 1547–52. In 1547 he was appointed High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. He assisted to quell the rising in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
in 1549, and after his father had been created Earl of Bedford in January 1550, was known as Lord Russell, taking his seat in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
under this title in 1552. Russell was in sympathy with reformers, whose opinions he shared, and was in communication with Sir Thomas Wyatt; and in consequence of his religious attitude was imprisoned during the earlier part of Mary's reign. Being released he visited Italy, and came into touch with foreign reformers. He led the English contingent fighting for
Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
, then England's
King Consort A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as ''prince''. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be ...
, at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557.


Elizabeth I

When
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
ascended the throne in November 1558 the Earl of Bedford, as Russell had been since 1555, became an active figure in public life. He was made a privy councillor, and was sent on diplomatic errands to
Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II of France, Francis II in 1560, an ...
and
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
. From February 1564 to October 1567 he was governor of Berwick and warden of the east marches of Scotland, in which capacity he conducted various negotiations between Elizabeth and Mary. Bedford represented Elizabeth as her ambassador at the baptism of Prince James on 17 December 1566 at
Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...
, and was guest of honour at the subsequent banquet and masque. Mary, Queen of Scots gave him a gold chain set with pearls, diamonds, and rubies. After the baptism, Mary's half-brother
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotl ...
took him on a tour of
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
. They visited
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
and Hallyards, a house of William Kirkcaldy of Grange. He appears to have been an efficient border warden, but was irritated by the vacillating and tortuous conduct of the English queen. When the northern insurrection broke out in 1569, Bedford was sent into
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, and he sat in judgment upon the
Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The premier non-royal peer, the Duke of Norfolk is additionally the premier duke and earl in the English peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the t ...
in 1572. In 1576 he was president of the council of Wales. In 1581 he was one of the commissioners deputed to arrange a marriage between Elizabeth and François, Duke of Anjou. Bedford, who was made a Knight of the Garter in 1564, appears to have been a generous and popular man, and died in London in 1585.


Personal life

His first wife was Margaret (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
St John) Gostwick (1533–1562), a widow of Sir John Gostwick. Margaret was a daughter of Sir John St John (great-grandson of Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso) and Margaret Waldegrave (a daughter of Sir William Waldegrave). Together, they were the parents of four sons and three daughters: * Lady Anne Russell (1548–1603), who married Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick. * Henry Russell, Baron Russell (1551–1572), who married his step-sister, Jane Sybilla Morrison of Cashiobury, without issue. * John Russell, Baron Russell (–1584), who married Elizabeth Hoby, widow of Sir Thomas Hoby and daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke. They had one son, Francis, who died young, and two daughters, which included Anne Russell, wife of Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester. * Francis Russell, Baron Russell (–1585), MP for
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, from 1572 to 1584; captured at the Raid of the Redeswire in 1575,William Boyd, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1574-1581'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907) p. 170. mortally wounded in a fray on the Scottish border, dying hours before his father. He married Juliana Foster and had issue, including Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford. * William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh (–1613), the Lord Deputy of Ireland who married Elizabeth Long, granddaughter of Sir Richard Long. They had one son, Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford. * Lady Elizabeth Russell (d. 1605), who married William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath. * Lady Margaret Russell (1560–1616), who married George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland. Lady Bedford died on 27 August 1562. Bedford married his second wife, Bridget Manners, the Dowager Countess of Rutland (d. 1601), on 25 June 1566. Lady Rutland, a daughter of John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford and Lady Anne Grey (a daughter of George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent), had been twice widowed; first from Ambassador Sir Richard Morrison of Cashiobury in 1556, and second from Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland in 1563. Lord Bedford died in London on 28 July 1585. He was buried at the family chapel at St. Michael's Church next to Chenies Manor House, the family estate which he had made his principal home and where he had entertained Queen Elizabeth in 1570. He was succeeded as third Earl by his grandson, Edward Russell (1572–1627), only son of Francis Russell, Lord Russell.


Descendants

Through his grandson, Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford (1587–1641) who was born two years after Lord Bedford's death in 1585, he was a great-grandfather of William Russell (1616–1700) who married Lady Anne Carr (a daughter of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset) and became the 5th Earl of Bedford before he was created
Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...
and Marquess of Tavistock on 11 May 1694.


See also

* Chenies Manor House


References


Sources

* * *Richardson, Douglas, Kimball G. Everingham, and David Faris. ''Plantagenet Ancestry A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Royal ancestry series.'' Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Pub. Co, 2004. Accessed 28 October 2007 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of 1520s births 1585 deaths 2
Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
Knights of the Garter Lord-lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Lord-lieutenants of Cornwall Lord-lieutenants of Devon Lord-lieutenants of Dorset F High sheriffs of Bedfordshire High sheriffs of Buckinghamshire 16th-century English soldiers 16th-century Puritans Ambassadors of England to Scotland English MPs 1545–1547 English MPs 1547–1552 16th-century English diplomats 16th-century English nobility