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Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
British aristocrat and businessman (born 1991) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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] making him 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]
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Early life and education
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]
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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]
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Philanthropy
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]
The Duke and Duchess of Westminster visited the University of Chester’s Queen's Park campus in Handbridge as part of a charitable engagement, where they toured facilities including simulation and virtual reality suites. The visit marked the Duchess's first public appearance since the announcement of her pregnancy. The university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Eunice Simmons, welcomed the couple and highlighted the visit as an opportunity to showcase the institution's resources.[18]
Personal life
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Grosvenor 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.[19][20]
In April 2023, Westminster's engagement to Olivia Grace Henson (born 1992) was announced.[21] 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.[22][23][24]
The couple married on 7 June 2024 at Chester Cathedral.[25][26] Prince William served as an usher at their wedding.[26] Guests included Princess Eugenie and Leonora, Countess of Lichfield.[27] The service was officiated by Tim Stratford, Dean of Chester, and the sermon was given by Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester.[27] 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.[28]
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.[29]
In March 2025, the couple announced they were expecting their first child.[30]
Grosvenor and his wife attended a UEFA Champions League match at Villa Park alongside the Prince of Wales, in their first public appearance together since announcing they were expecting their first child. Also present were Prince George of Wales and Edward van Cutsem.[18][31]
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References
External links
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