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Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster

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His Grace
The Duke of Westminster
DL
Grosvenor in 2018
Born
Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor

(1991-01-29) 29 January 1991 (age 33)
London, England
Education
Occupations
  • Landowner
  • Businessman
Spouse
​
(m. 2024)​
Parents
Relatives

Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, DL (born 29 January 1991), is a British aristocrat and businessman. He inherited his title and control of the Grosvenor Estate, then worth an estimated £9 billion, from his father in 2016.[1] As such, Grosvenor is one of the wealthiest men in Britain. In 2023, Bloomberg estimated that he had a net worth of approximately £9.42 billion.[2] He ranked 15th on the Sunday Times Rich List 2024 with an estimated fortune of £10.127 billion.[3]

Early life and education

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Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor was born on 29 January 1991 in London as the third child and only son of Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Natalia (née Phillips). His baptism on 23 June 1991 was attended by Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), who was named one of his godparents. He was styled as Earl Grosvenor from his birth until 2016, when his father died and he became the seventh Duke.

Through his mother, Westminster descends from the Russian Imperial House of Romanov, specifically from Nicholas I of Russia, and also from the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalia Nikolayevna Goncharova.[4]

He was raised at Eaton Hall in Cheshire, the Grosvenor family seat with his three sisters: Lady Tamara, Lady Edwina, and Lady Viola. They attended a local public primary school. Afterwards, he attended the small, private Mostyn House School, followed by Ellesmere College in Shropshire.[5] He later studied at Newcastle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Countryside Management.[6]

Career

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After graduating, Westminster worked in estate management at Wheatsheaf Group, a food and agriculture investment business based in the Eaton estate and owned by the Grosvenor Group. He then became an account manager at Bio-bean, a sustainability company that turns coffee waste into bioproducts, such as logs and biofuel.[6]

Upon his father's death in August 2016, he inherited the titles and share in the fortune then estimated at £9 billion, with considerable trust funds for his sisters.[7] This wealth is held in a trust of which the 7th Duke is a beneficial owner and chair of trustees but not the legal owner — an arrangement that received considerable media attention, owing to the inheritance tax exemption it confers.[8][9][10][11] The Duke is Chair of Grosvenor Group, a real estate development and investment company with a portfolio of urban and rural properties in Europe, Asia and North America, and investments in food and agricultural technology companies.[6] His land holdings include the 39,000 hectare Reay Forest Estate in Sutherland, Scotland.[12]

The Duke was one of the peers carrying the Royal Standards at the 2023 coronation.[13] He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Cheshire on 9 June 2023.[14]

Philanthropy

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Westminster is the chair of trustees of the Westminster Foundation, a charitable organization that focuses on helping vulnerable youth and their families by supporting local communities and educational e-spaces, and fighting inequality of opportunities.[15]

He also continues to support the DNRC or the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, an organization established by his father that helps wounded British military veterans.[16]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Westminster donated £12.5 million to the national COVID relief effort and to support the NHS,[17] and £1 million to the University of Oxford to fund research projects on mental health and psychology.[17]

Personal life

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Westminster is a close friend of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex. He is the godfather of Prince George of Wales and Prince Archie of Sussex.[18][19]

In April 2023, Westminster's engagement to Olivia Grace Henson (born 1992) was announced.[20] Henson attended Marlborough College alongside Princess Eugenie and is the daughter of Rupert Cornelius Brooke Henson (born 1962) and Caroline Belinda Frisby (born 1963) whose great-grandmother was Lady Geraldine Mariana Hoare née Hervey (died 1955), a great-granddaughter of the 5th Duke of Rutland.[21][22][23]

The couple married on 7 June 2024 at Chester Cathedral.[24][25] Prince William served as an usher at their wedding.[25] Guests included Princess Eugenie and Leonora, Countess of Lichfield.[26] The service was officiated by Tim Stratford, Dean of Chester, and the sermon was given by Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester.[26] Following the service, two supporters of Just Stop Oil projected powder paint near the cathedral's entrance as the newlyweds made their way to a car.[27]

Henson's great-grand uncle, Henry Peregrine Hoare (1901–1981), was married to Anne, Lady Ebury, the mother of Francis Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton, the heir presumptive to Westminster's subsidiary peerage, the Marquessate of Westminster.[28]

Arms

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Coat of arms of Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
Notes
The dukedom of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874.
Crest
A Talbot statant Or
Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Azure a Portcullis with chains pendant Or on a Chief of the last between two united Roses of York and Lancaster a Pale charged with the Arms of King Edward the Confessor (City of Westminster); 2 and 3rd, Azure a Garb Or (Grosvenor)
Supporters
On either side a Talbot reguardant Or collared Azure
Motto
Virtus Non Stemma (Virtue not ancestry)

References

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  1. ^ Davies, Caroline (10 August 2016). "New Duke of Westminster inherits £9bn fortune aged 25". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index - Hugh Grosvenor". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  3. ^ Watts, Robert (19 May 2024). "The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family net worth — Sunday Times Rich List 2024". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Descendant Of Pushkin And the Romanovs becomes world's youngest billionaire". RBTH. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Ellesmerian Magazine 2009" (PDF). Ellesmerian. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Duke of Westminster". Grosvesnor. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  7. ^ Howes, Scarlet (10 August 2016). "New Duke becomes a billionaire at 25". The Times. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2016.(subscription required)
  8. ^ Garside, Juliette (11 August 2016). "Inheritance tax: why the new Duke of Westminster will not pay billions". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  9. ^ "How the Duke of Westminster dodged IHT – MoneyWeek". MoneyWeek. 21 August 2016. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Inheritance tax, and how the Dukes of Westminster avoid it on their £9bn fortune". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Duke's £9bn inheritance prompts call for tax overhaul". The Guardian. 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  12. ^ Strang, Dougie (2023), The Bone Cave: A Journey Through Myth and Memory, Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, p.84, ISBN 9781780278353
  13. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  14. ^ "No. 64076". The London Gazette. 12 June 2023. p. 11506.
  15. ^ "Westminster Foundation". westminsterfoundation.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  16. ^ @grosvenor (18 May 2018). "In this short film, Hugh, #DukeofWestminster presents the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, an initiative of his late father, the 6th Duke of Westminster, which will become one of the world's best clinical rehabilitation centres for people with trauma injuries" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ a b Neate, Rupert; correspondent, Rupert Neate Wealth (15 April 2020). "Duke of Westminster donates £12.5m to NHS coronavirus fight". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2023. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ "Prince George christening: Godparents announced". BBC News. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  19. ^ Nikkhah, Roya (2 December 2023). "Harry and Meghan excluded from Duke of Westminster's wedding". The Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  20. ^ Bannerman, Lucy (23 April 2023). "Duke of Westminster: Prince George's godfather announces his engagement". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  21. ^ Bridger-Linning, Stephanie (29 June 2023). "The Duke of Westminster, Prince George's billionaire godfather, reveals his wedding date and location". Tatler. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  22. ^ Wills, Kate (13 May 2024). "The woman who won the heart of the most eligible bachelor in England". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  23. ^ Burke, B. (1965). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. Burke's Peerage. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-85011-006-7. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  24. ^ Dougherty, Matthew (27 June 2023). "Duke of Westminster to be married at Chester Cathedral". The Standard. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  25. ^ a b Jahangir, Rumeana; Long, Chris (7 June 2024). "William among guests at Duke of Westminster's wedding". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  26. ^ a b Calfee, Joel (7 June 2024). "Who Is Olivia Henson, the New Duchess of Westminster?". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  27. ^ Long, Chris (7 June 2024). "Paint sprayed in air outside duke's wedding". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  28. ^ Ward, Victoria (6 June 2024). "Duke of Westminster's Marquess title safe thanks to bride's distant relative". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
[edit]
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Duke of Westminster
2016–present 		Incumbent
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
The Duke of Westminster 		Succeeded by
Lines of succession
Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
Born: 29 January 1991
Lines of succession
Preceded by Line of succession to the British throne
descendant of Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of George II 		Succeeded by
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