Barony of Ampthill
Arms of Baron Ampthill
Creation date11 Mar 1881
Created byQueen Victoria
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderOdo Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill
Present holderDavid Russell, 5th Baron Ampthill
Heir presumptiveAnthony John Mark Russell
Remainder tothe 1st Baron's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten.

Baron Ampthill, of Ampthill in the County of Bedfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 March 1881 for the diplomat Lord Odo Russell. He was the third son of Major-General Lord George Russell, second son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford.

His son, the second Baron, served as Governor of Madras from 1899 to 1906 and was interim Viceroy of India in 1904. His grandson, the fourth Baron, was one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remained in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and sat as a cross-bencher. As of 2014 the title is held by the latter's son, the fifth Baron, who succeeded his father in 2011.

Coat of arms

The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the barony is: Argent, a lion rampant gules, on a chief sable three escallops argent, a mullet or for difference.

Barons Ampthill (1881)

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother, Anthony John Mark Russell (b. 1952).

Family tree

Russell family tree: Barons Ampthill
Duke of Bedford
John Russell,
6th Duke of Bedford
(1766–1839)
Earl Russell
Francis Russell,
7th Duke of Bedford
(1788–1861)		Lord George William Russell
(1790–1846)		Lord John Russell,
1st Earl Russell
(1792–1878)
P.M. 1846–52, 1865–66
BARON AMPTHILL, 1881
William Russell,
8th Duke of Bedford
(1809–1872)		Francis Charles Hastings Russell,
9th Duke of Bedford
(1819–1891)		Lord Odo William Leopold Russell,
1st Baron Ampthill
(1829–1884)		John Russell,
Viscount Amberley
(1842–1876)
10th and subsequent
Dukes of Bedford
Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell,
2nd Baron Ampthill
(1869–1935)		Bertrand Arthur William Russell,
3rd Earl Russell
(1872–1970)
Philosopher
Christabel Hulme Hart [n 1]
(1895–1976)		John Hugo Russell,
3rd Baron Ampthill[n 2]
(1896–1973)		Adeline Mary Constance Hone [n 3]
(1909–2004)
Geoffrey Denis Erskine Russell,
4th Baron Ampthill[n 4]
(1921–2011)		John Hugo Trenchard Russell [n 5]
(born 1950)
David Whitney Erskine Russell,
5th Baron Ampthill
(born 1947)		James Nicholas Geoffrey Russell
(1948–1969)		Anthony John Mark Russell
(born 1952)
heir presumptive		Henry John Trenchard Russell
(born 1977)		James Peter Faber Russell
(born 1980)
William Odo Alexander Russell
(born 1986)		William Russell
(born 2010)		Oliver Odo Jonathan Russell
(born 2010)

The 5th Baron is 4th cousin once removed of the 15th Duke of Bedford and is currently 16th in the line of succession to the dukedom.

Notes

  1. ^ First wife. Divorce proceedings by the 3rd Baron against her in 1922 failed. Divorce proceedings in 1923 succeeded but were overturned on appeal to the House of Lords in 1924. A divorce was finally granted in 1935, but the legitimacy of her son remained intact. (See Russell case.)
  2. ^ Initiated divorce proceedings against his 1st wife in 1922 which failed and again in 1923 which succeeded until overturned by the House of Lords in 1924. His eldest son's, later the 4th Baron, legitimacy was confirmed by the action of the House of Lords. He ultimately succeeded in divorcing his 1st wife in 1935. (See Russell case.)
  3. ^ Third wife, the second marriage failing to produce issue.
  4. ^ His father, through divorce proceedings, tried to have him declared illegitimate. The House of Lords disagreed and sided with his mother that he was the son of the 3rd Baron. (See Russell case.)
  5. ^ John challenged Geoffrey Russell's right to inherit the Ampthill barony. In 1976, the House of Lords Committee For Privileges reported that the younger John had not made out his claim, so confirming Geoffrey as the 4th Baron Ampthill. (See Russell case.)

See also

References

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