Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.rbth.com/politics_and_society/2016/08/12/descendant-of-pushkin-and-the-romanovs-becomes-worlds-youngest-billionaire_620511 |title=Descendant Of Pushkin And the Romanovs becomes world's youngest billionaire |work=RBTH |date=12 August 2016 |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409225734/https://www.rbth.com//politics_and_society/2016/08/12/descendant-of-pushkin-and-the-romanovs-becomes-worlds-youngest-billionaire_620511 |url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|title=Ellesmerian Magazine 2009|url=http://www.ellesmere.com/assets/pdfs/magazine/Ellesmerian_Magazine_2009.pdf|access-date=14 April 2023|magazine=Ellesmerian|archive-date=6 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106211009/http://www.ellesmere.com/assets/pdfs/magazine/Ellesmerian_Magazine_2009.pdf|url-status=dead}} He later studied at Newcastle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Countryside Management.{{Cite web|url=https://www.grosvenor.com/about-us/our-people-2e99a4c93c49100fe0bb82bdea5d432a/duke-of-westminster|title=Duke of Westminster|website=Grosvesnor|access-date=14 April 2023|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405141555/https://www.grosvenor.com/about-us/our-people-2e99a4c93c49100fe0bb82bdea5d432a/duke-of-westminster|url-status=live}}

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.

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.{{cite news |last=Howes |first=Scarlet |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/new-duke-becomes-a-billionaire-at-25-zjxp6pdbm |title=New Duke becomes a billionaire at 25 |work=The Times |date=10 August 2016 |access-date=10 August 2016 |archive-date=6 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106211028/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/new-duke-becomes-a-billionaire-at-25-zjxp6pdbm?region=global |url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/inheritance-tax-why-the-new-duke-of-westminster-will-not-pay-billions |title=Inheritance tax: why the new Duke of Westminster will not pay billions |last=Garside |first=Juliette |date=11 August 2016 |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 May 2017 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512123400/https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/inheritance-tax-why-the-new-duke-of-westminster-will-not-pay-billions |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://moneyweek.com/how-the-duke-of-westminster-dodged-iht/ |title=How the Duke of Westminster dodged IHT – MoneyWeek |date=21 August 2016 |work=MoneyWeek |access-date=14 May 2017 |archive-date=19 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619005833/http://moneyweek.com/how-the-duke-of-westminster-dodged-iht/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/inheritance/inheritance-tax-and-how-the-dukes-of-westminster-avoid-it-on-the/ |title=Inheritance tax, and how the Dukes of Westminster avoid it on their £9bn fortune |work=The Telegraph |access-date=14 May 2017 |archive-date=6 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106210952/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tax/inheritance/inheritance-tax-and-how-the-dukes-of-westminster-avoid-it-on-the/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/11/duke-westminster-hugh-grosvenor-inheritance-tax-reform |title=Duke's £9bn inheritance prompts call for tax overhaul |work=The Guardian |date=11 August 2016 |access-date=11 August 2016 |archive-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812033500/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/11/duke-westminster-hugh-grosvenor-inheritance-tax-reform |url-status=live}} 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. His land holdings include the 39,000 hectare Reay Forest Estate in Sutherland, Scotland.Strang, Dougie (2023), The Bone Cave: A Journey Through Myth and Memory, Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, p.84, {{isbn|9781780278353}}

The Duke was one of the peers carrying the Royal Standards at the 2023 coronation.{{cite news |title=Coronation order of service in full |work=BBC News |date=5 May 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65503950 |access-date=6 May 2023 |archive-date=6 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506001110/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65503950 |url-status=live }} He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Cheshire on 9 June 2023.{{London Gazette|date=12 June 2023|issue=64076|page=11506}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://westminsterfoundation.org.uk/about-us|title=Westminster Foundation|website=westminsterfoundation.org.uk|access-date=14 April 2023|archive-date=19 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419100711/https://westminsterfoundation.org.uk/about-us|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite tweet|user=grosvenor|number=997378757018218496|title=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}}

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Westminster donated £12.5 million to the national COVID relief effort and to support the NHS,{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/apr/15/duke-of-westminster-donates-nhs-coronavirus-fight-hugh-grosvenor|title=Duke of Westminster donates £12.5m to NHS coronavirus fight|first1=Rupert|last1=Neate|date=15 April 2020|access-date=14 April 2023|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-date=7 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607062432/https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/apr/15/duke-of-westminster-donates-nhs-coronavirus-fight-hugh-grosvenor|url-status=live}} and £1 million to the University of Oxford to fund research projects on mental health and psychology.

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.{{cite news|date=23 October 2013|title=Prince George christening: Godparents announced|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24636263|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210123305/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24636263|archive-date=10 February 2021|access-date=23 October 2013|work=BBC News}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/duke-of-westminster-wedding-prince-harry-meghan-william-z9v692srw|title=Harry and Meghan excluded from Duke of Westminster's wedding|work=The Times|first=Roya|last=Nikkhah|date=2 December 2023|access-date=2 December 2023|archive-date=2 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202193927/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/duke-of-westminster-wedding-prince-harry-meghan-william-z9v692srw|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}

In April 2023, Westminster's engagement to Olivia Grace Henson (born 1992) was announced.{{cite news |last=Bannerman |first=Lucy |title=Duke of Westminster: Prince George's godfather announces his engagement |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/duke-of-westminster-prince-georges-godfather-announces-his-engagement-88hfs63tc |access-date=30 September 2023 |work=The Times |date=23 April 2023 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022025957/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/duke-of-westminster-prince-georges-godfather-announces-his-engagement-88hfs63tc |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite news |last=Bridger-Linning |first=Stephanie |title=The Duke of Westminster, Prince George's billionaire godfather, reveals his wedding date and location |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/the-duke-of-westminster-prince-georges-billionaire-godfather-and-britains-most-eligible-bachelor-is-engaged |access-date=30 September 2023 |work=Tatler |date=29 June 2023 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022025958/https://www.tatler.com/article/the-duke-of-westminster-prince-georges-billionaire-godfather-and-britains-most-eligible-bachelor-is-engaged |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Wills |first=Kate |title=The woman who won the heart of the most eligible bachelor in England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/05/13/duke-of-westminster-fiancee-what-we-know-olivia-henson/ |access-date=17 May 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=13 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517102629/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/05/13/duke-of-westminster-fiancee-what-we-know-olivia-henson/|archive-date=17 May 2024 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}{{cite book |last=Burke |first=B. |title=Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry |date=1965 |publisher=Burke's Peerage |page=390 |isbn=978-0-85011-006-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGZmAAAAMAAJ&q=marquess+Bristol+hervey+angela+Burkes |access-date=4 November 2023}}

The couple married on 7 June 2024 at Chester Cathedral.{{cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Matthew |date=27 June 2023 |title=Duke of Westminster to be married at Chester Cathedral |url=https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/23617000.duke-westminster-married-chester-cathedral/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214020149/https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/23617000.duke-westminster-married-chester-cathedral/ |archive-date=14 February 2024 |access-date=30 September 2023 |work=The Standard}}{{Cite news |last1=Jahangir |first1=Rumeana |last2=Long |first2=Chris |date=7 June 2024 |title=William among guests at Duke of Westminster's wedding |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ggpwx27ydo |access-date=7 June 2024 |work=BBC News}} Prince William served as an usher at their wedding. Guests included Princess Eugenie and Leonora, Countess of Lichfield.{{cite magazine |last=Calfee |first=Joel |date=7 June 2024 |title=Who Is Olivia Henson, the New Duchess of Westminster? |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a61026400/who-is-olivia-henson-duchess-of-westminster/ |access-date=7 June 2024 |magazine=Harper's Bazaar}} The service was officiated by Tim Stratford, Dean of Chester, and the sermon was given by Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester. 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.{{cite news |last=Long |first=Chris |date=7 June 2024 |title=Paint sprayed in air outside duke's wedding |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11k50vy95o |access-date=8 June 2024 |work=BBC News}}

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.{{cite news |last=Ward |first=Victoria |title=Duke of Westminster's Marquess title safe thanks to bride's distant relative |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/06/06/duke-westminster-marquess-title-safe-olivia-henson-relation/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=7 June 2024 |date=6 June 2024 |archive-date=6 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606230123/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2024/06/06/duke-westminster-marquess-title-safe-olivia-henson-relation/ |url-status=live }}

In March 2025, the couple announced they were expecting their first child.{{Cite news |date=2025-03-12 |title='Delighted' Duke and Duchess of Westminster expecting their first baby |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/12/duke-duchess-westminster-expecting-baby-royal-family/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

{{Emblem table

|image = Coat of Arms of the Duke of Westminster without Order of Garter.svg

|crest = A Talbot statant Or

|notes = The dukedom of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874.

|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)

}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Commons-inline}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-reg|uk}}

{{s-bef

| before = Gerald Grosvenor

}}

{{s-ttl

| title = Duke of Westminster

| years = 2016–present

}}

{{s-inc

| incumbent = Hugh Grosvenor

}}

{{s-prec|uk}}

{{s-bef

| before = The Duke of Abercorn

}}

{{s-ttl

| title = Gentlemen
The Duke of Westminster

| years =

}}

{{s-aft

| after = The Duke of Fife

}}

{{S-other|line}}

{{S-hou||29 January|1991}}

{{S-other|line}}

{{S-bef

| before = Natalia Grosvenor, Dowager Duchess of Westminster

}}

{{S-ttl

| title = Line of succession to the British throne

| creation = descendant of Louise of Great Britain, youngest daughter of George II

}}

{{S-aft

| after = Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor

}}

{{S-end}}

{{Dukes of Westminster}}

{{Current British dukes}}

{{authority control}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of}}

Category:1991 births

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at Ellesmere College

Category:Alumni of Newcastle University

Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster

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Category:English people of German descent

Category:English people of Russian descent

Category:People from Cheshire

Category:English landowners

Category:English billionaires

Category:English philanthropists

Category:People named in the Paradise Papers

Category:Deputy lieutenants of Cheshire