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Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (née Lady Diana Spencer; 31 July 1710 – 27 September 1735), was a member of the Spencer family known for the unsuccessful attempt of marriage with Frederick, Prince of Wales. Orphaned by the age of 12, 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 the Prince of Wales, 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. Her brother John's descendant, Lady Diana Spencer, who married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981, was named after her. == Early life == Lady Diana Spencer was born into the rising Spencer family in London on 31 July 1710.〔 She was the second daughter and youngest of five children of the English statesman Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, and his second wife, Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (née Lady Anne Churchill). The Countess of Sunderland was the second-born but favourite and politically most active daughter of the English soldier and statesman John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Lady Sunderland's mother, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, was one of the most influential women of the time due to her close friendship with Queen Anne, who died in 1714.〔 Following her mother's death on 29 April 1716, Lady Diana's father married his third wife, Judith Tichborne, on 17 December 1717. The marriage produced three children who died in infancy, and ended with Lord Sunderland's death on 19 April 1722. 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. 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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