Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford

Lady Diana Spencer was born into the rising Spencer family in London on 31 July 1710. The Duke of Marlborough died on 16 June the same year. His widow, now Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, had closely involved herself with the upbringing of Lady Diana and her siblings since the death of Lady Sunderland. The death of the children's father left them entirely in the care of the Dowager Duchess. 's 1720 portrait of Diana and her brothers Charles and John Known to her family as "dear little Di", Lady Diana grew up into a tall, fair-haired, and attractive young woman, and was considered sympathetic and charismatic by her contemporaries. She acted as amanuensis to her grandmother, who found writing her numerous letters difficult due to her gout. In 1723, her grandmother described her as having "more sense than anybody I know of my sex". Growing up as a neighbour of the composer George Frideric Handel, Lady Diana gained a lifelong interest in opera. == Suitors and royal match scheme ==

In her late adolescence, Lady Diana was at the top of the list of eligible high society brides due to both her looks and her closeness to the tremendously rich Dowager Duchess of Marlborough. and the date was agreed on. The Dowager Duchess offered the greatly indebted Prince of Wales £100,000 in return for agreeing to the match. Prime Minister Robert Walpole, however, preferred a European match. He learned of the scheme through his "infallible spy system" and prevented the union, which led to a further deterioration of his relationship with the Dowager Duchess, already his great rival. The story was only recorded decades later, by Walpole's son Horace. == Marriage ==

After the planned royal marriage came to nothing, the Dowager Duchess finally settled on the 21-year-old Lord John Russell, younger brother and heir presumptive of the Duke of Bedford. The death of her brother-in-law in Spain on 23 October, 1732 made Lady Diana Duchess of Bedford and châtelaine of Woburn Abbey. The trauma induced the premature birth of a son named John, possibly in Cheam. His baptism was registered on 6 November, but he died within a day and was buried in Chenies on 11 November. Lord Hervey reported that it was deemed so important to prevent the Duchess from learning about her son's death "that after grand consultation ... it was determined a Child should be brought to replace the Defunct, till she was strong enough to hear the truth and be told it was only a pretender". The Duke soon became obsessed with fathering an heir, and was deeply upset when, few months after the birth of their child, the Duchess's next pregnancy ended in miscarriage. The Duchess found herself reproached for not looking after herself properly during the pregnancy. Although they no longer lived together, grandmother and granddaughter still saw each other frequently and exchanged two to three letters weekly when they were separated. The Duchess of Bedford remained the closest confidante of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough and was kept informed about all family affairs, including financial matters. == Death ==

, still hanging in Woburn Abbey In the spring of 1735, the Duchess of Bedford started experiencing symptoms of what she believed was her third pregnancy. The Dowager Duchess insisted that her granddaughter be moved to Bedford House in Bloomsbury Square. She had become estranged from all her surviving daughters, and the Duchess of Bedford was her only grandchild who never disappointed her. Lord Hervey, however, accused the Dowager Duchess of caring more about the return of her granddaughter's jewels, which she demanded back from the Duke even before the Duchess was buried. The Duchess of Bedford's lead-lined coffin was placed on a gun carriage and taken through the streets. She was buried on 9 October 1735 at Chenies, Buckinghamshire. Her death removed her grandmother's link with the Duke of Bedford, leading to a considerable diminishment in the latter's influence. == Legacy ==

, September 1823 Wimbledon House, which the Duchess had stood to inherit according to her grandmother's plan, passed instead to her brother John, the favourite grandson. Unlike her ancestor, the 20th-century Lady Diana Spencer married her Prince of Wales, Charles, in 1981. She died in 1997, aged 36, a year after their divorce. Victoria Massey, biographer of the earlier Lady Diana Spencer, noted the similarities between the lives of the two namesakes: as children, they both lived at Althorp and socialised with royalty; both grew up without a mother from the age of six; both were proposed as a bride for a Prince of Wales; both had an accident during her first pregnancy; and both died unexpectedly at a young age. == References ==