Diana Russell | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Bedford | |
 Portrait of Lady Diana painted by Charles Jervas while she lived in Blenheim Palace | |
| Born | Lady Diana Spencer 31 July 1710 London, England |
| Died | 27 September 1735 (aged 25) Bedford House (Strand) (formerly called Southampton House), Bloomsbury Square, Bedford Estate, London, England |
| Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
| Noble family | Spencer (by birth) Russell (by marriage) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue | John Russell, Marquess of Tavistock |
| Father | Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland |
| Mother | Lady Anne Churchill |
Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (née Lady Diana Spencer; 31 July 1710 – 27 September 1735), was a member of the Spencer family, chiefly remembered because of an unsuccessful attempt to arrange a marriage for her with Frederick, Prince of Wales.
Orphaned by the age of 6, Lady Diana, known by her family as "dear little Di", joined the household of her rich and ambitious maternal grandmother, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. She was her grandmother's favourite grandchild and closest confidante. The highly influential Duchess of Marlborough tried to arrange a secret marriage between Lady Diana and Prince Frederick, King George II's eldest son and heir apparent to the throne. When the scheme was frustrated by Prime Minister Robert Walpole, Lady Diana was married off to Lord John Russell, later 4th Duke of Bedford. The couple's only child was a son named John, whose preterm birth was induced by a carriage accident and who lived for a day. Following a further miscarriage, the Duchess of Bedford died of tuberculosis at the age of 25.
Diana's brother John's descendant Lady Diana Spencer, who married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981, was named after her.