Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, married his wife Olivia last year, in what was called (by the British press) the “wedding of the year,” if not the wedding of the decade. They hyped the wedding so much, I was really expecting something very grand. It… did not turn out that way. Hugh and Olivia got married at a local Chester cathedral, and the wedding planners (??) decided to lay down beige-carpeted plywood as a sort of “platform” for the wedding party. The whole thing looked extremely budget. I wasn’t a fan of Olivia’s bridal look either, but others thought she looked nice. Part of the reason why the British press hyped the wedding so much was because Prince William wanted everyone to know that Hugh invited him and NOT HARRY. As it turned out, Hugh did invite Harry, and Harry declined the invitation.
Another reason why the Grosvenor/Westminster wedding was so hyped was because the family is stinking rich. The Grosvenors own a wide swath of prime London real estate and a grand country estate (which basically supports a whole county). When Hugh and Olivia married, they promised to recommit themselves to the country estate and start a family. Well, not even one year later and Olivia is expecting!
Congratulations are in order for the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, Hugh and Olivia Grosvenor, who are expecting their first child.
A spokesperson for the couple said in a statement released on March 12: “The Duke and Duchess of Westminster are very pleased to share that the Duchess is expecting a baby in the summer. The couple are delighted with the news and are very much looking forward to starting a family together.”
The child has some royal ties even before its birth, as Hugh is close friends with Prince William and Prince Harry. The Duke of Westminster is also a godfather to both of their first sons: Prince George and Prince Archie.
The Duke and Duchess tied the knot on June 7, 2024, with Prince William serving as an usher for the ceremony at Chester Cathedral. Princess Eugenie was also a guest at the high society wedding. While Prince Harry declined an invitation to the wedding, a source told PEOPLE at the time that his absence from Hugh’s wedding was an “understanding between the two friends.”
Hugh and Olivia met through friends, and he proposed to her at Eaton Hall, his family’s ancestral seat on the outskirts of Chester. The couple gave back to his hometown before their big day, visiting the children’s programs that the Westminster Foundation puts on at Chester Castle.
Hugh’s ties to the royal family trace back generations. He is a godson of King Charles and his mother, Natalia, is a godmother to Prince William.
Congrats to them! I’m glad they were able to start their family so quickly. They honestly seem like a pretty lowkey couple – when I wrote about them last year, I could not find any photos of them attending society events or even charity fundraisers. It’s a different thing when you’re British and you inherit that kind of money, I guess. Which is why it was so tacky that William was briefing about Hugh’s wedding to the Times of London – Hugh and Olivia clearly wanted no part of William’s childishness and look-at-me-Harry antics. Whenever this child is born, I predict that William will go on another briefing spree about how Hugh asked him AND NOT HARRY to be the godfather to this next-gen Grosvenor.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Duke of Westminster marries Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: John Rainford/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK**
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- The Duke of Westminster marries Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral Featuring: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke Of Westminster, Olivia Henson Where: Chester, United Kingdom When: 07 Jun 2024 Credit: John Rainford/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK**
The palace briefings about this were crazy. I didn’t even notice, it stopped completely after the wedding. How embarrassing for Will to turn someone else’s wedding into his own power show. He must have learned that from his wife, I guess.
Congratulations to the couple. I have a feeling we are gonna get another embarrassing number of articles about Will becoming a godfather to their first child and not Harry, because Harry is the worst.
😂
I have noticed that they don’t seem to be invited to weddings anymore unless they’re high profile or state duty (Westminster and Jordan).
Imagine having such guests trying to centre a couple’s special day around Willie’s or Kate’s needs. What a nightmare. Natalia was pissed off Camilla tried to make one of her daughter’s wedding all about herself too.
Seems the other aristos would prefer a destination wedding as a result (one of the Duke of Wellington’s daughters married a Spanish aristo and had the wedding in Spain).
Glad Harry no longer has to attend that shitshow.
And another round of stories that the couple won’t invite harry to the christening like all those stories about harry being kept away from the wedding
I don’t remember if it was in December or when but wasn’t there a story about William going to this guy’s hunting estate in Spain. Anyways, what are the rules here? Does the baby need to be a boy to become the heir or can a girl be an heir? I’m thinking it has to be a boy right?
Yup. The current duke has three older sisters. So he’ll have to continue to breed until he gets his male heir (and spare).
LOL May they have a slew of healthy girls! 😁
Two of his sisters are older than him, the third was born after him.
A daughter, alas, could not inherit the dukedom in her own right.
Yes, the child needs to be a boy to inherit. At least anything that isn’t entailed. The title, estate and house are but I don’t know about individual pieces like jewelry or parts of the real estate empire.
Happy for them, they seem like a nice, grounded couple. (As grounded as you can be with a billion pounds)
I was re-shocked today at this plywood platform covered in that burlap looking carpet. I had pushed this from my mind! It was… not impressive. I get that a red carpet may not have been appropriate, but surely there was something else they could have chosen?
I also didn’t remember the bridesmaids wearing those black shoes…. Not the best styling, but the couple seems in love and happy, and I’m glad they are having a baby. Babies are always good news!
If everything at the wedding was perfect, it would seem nouveau riche.
Old money aristocrats always leave something askew. If it isn’t plywood boards, it’s not washing or combing their hair, or wearing mismatched clothes, or driving a Morris Minor car. It’s a small sign to show everyone that they are above caring how things look.
Those flower girl dresses are tragic. They look like plastic bags cinched at the waist. He kinda looks like a derpy version of Joe Alwyn. Still cute couple though. Congrats to them
They weren’t waiting around. Hugh needs that heir.
It’s crazy but it’s true. The Grosvenors have had a bunch of kids over the decades—two of the Dukes had a dozen children each. Others have had large families. But they are fantastically short on males.
You have to go back like eight generations to find Hugh’s heir. That’s the 90 year old Baron Ebury. He has a son but that son has no children. So then you go through a couple other old(er) guys who have no children or just daughters. Then you have to go past 1700 and look for descendants. There are no male heirs going back to before it was a dukedom, a marquessate, and Earldom. All the way to a distant barony.
I don’t even know who would follow the two old dudes who will die, barring an accident or illness, before Hugh. The title may very well become extinct. Several titles held by male relatives who were ennobled or inherited distant titles have become extinct already.
So it’s actually a pretty big deal, aristocracy-wise, for him to have a son.
The Grosvenors LoS would make for some fascinating reading.
If Hugh does produce females, can he request a change to his duchy’s succession rules? There’s been talk about removing the Salic law/male primogeniture for some, if not all titles. But I think it’s done on a case by case basis and Hugh will have to bribe Willie bigly for such a change.
I’d also think some DNA testing would be warranted after what happened with trying to find Richard III’s relatives.
One of the few times exceptions have been made and a female assume a title in her own right, there’s usually a connection to the royals with that relationship. The Westminsters have been tied by affection as well as blood* for generations. If anyone could get a waiver to prevent such a prestigious title becoming extinct it would be them.
*there are two blood ties. William and garry and Hugh are fourth cousins, each being four times great grandchildren of Nicholas I of Russia.
Nicholas I of Russia—Grand Duke Constantine—Queen Olga of Greece—Andrew—Philip—Charles—William and Harry
Nicholas I—Grand Duke Michael—Michael—Zia—Georgina—Natalia—Hugh
They are also descendants of Charles Christian of Nassau, who himself was a descendant of George II of Great Britain.
Charles Christian of Nassau—Frederick William—William, Duke of Nassau—Nicholas—Sophie—Zia—Georgina—Natalia—Hugh
Charles Christian—Henriette—Alexander—Francis, Duke of Teck—Queen Mary—George VI—Elizabeth—Charles—William and Harry
These latter ties also connect the Westminsters to the royal families of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium.
These latter ties especially may be distant but Philip and Elizabeth as well as Queen Mary were very close to these relations. Zia was a surrogate aunt to Philip, her sister Nada being married to his uncle and guardian George, marquess of Milford haven. Zia’s children were amongst Philip and Elizabeth’s closest friends. And one of the Westminsters, Margaret, married Queen Mary’s brother as well.
Didn’t they change the rules for the actual monarchy when Kate was pregnant with George, that William’s female heirs could inherit? Am I misremembering? At the time, it felt like they knew George was going to be a boy, so it was a change with zero real consequences that only appeared to modernize anything.
@Christine They changed the rules governing the line of succession from male-preference primogeniture to strict primogeniture.
Before the change, all of William’s sons would have come before any of his daughters in the line of succession, after the change it is purely based on order of birth.
Oh wow, thanks for that @BQM! I was going to comment “Mazel, I guess, billionare procreates, news at 11” but I didn’t realize it was such a big deal for the family title/inheritance. No wonder they didn’t waste a year or two “getting to know each other” etc…I guess she’s in for yearly births until the heir and spare arrive…She has ONE JOB
They dated for a couple of years but Hugh was in a loooong relationship with someone else and this one was a rebound. The girl who dumped him had chutzpah – can you imagine turning down the country’s wealthiest aristocrat? But she had a career and she wanted to keep it rather than be his breeder. This one sounds more flaky so she’s fine to do her child-bearing duties.
The ex and current look the same too. Hugh has a penchant for brunettes 😂
No tights for the bridesmaids? Kate must have been horrified.
Perhaps that’s why she wasn’t invited.
Lazy Katie was Meghan’s wedding guest from hell. Felt sorry for Harry and Meghan that they had to invite Kate’s entire family to their wedding.
Kate didn’t go to the wedding because Hugh got married to Olivia in 2024, the year of her disappearance from view while she was getting chemo/recovering from her surgery. She clearly was well enough though that William was able to attend by himself.
Kate never had cancer, and given how shady and weird all the info was about her ‘treatment’? I doubt there was any chemo going on. Her lies will catch up with her – when Charles and William want them to.
The Grosveners give their helicopters and lands to the Windsors so they can have private vacations w/o the press finding out.
I hate trains on bridal dresses. There’s always someone lifting your skirt and flashing your knickers to everyone. Not a good look. If the train can’t drag behind you gracefully, then don’t have one.
Or have a separate train that’s not attached to the bottom of the skirt. Have a train that falls from the shoulders or is a separate overskirt.
And those blue velvet chunky shoes were awful with the slinky nightgown material of the dress.
There was A LOT of wind the day they got married. If you go back to the video of Olivia entering the church, there was someone trying to get her train/veil straight before she entered the church for photos. It was a waste of time and a losing battle. Her train and veil just kept flying all over the place. I heavily judged Hugh for not assisting his wife with the windy train and veil one bit when they exited. Olivia was holding it back on her own. He just stood here like a useless dolt. That’s why her train looks like a mess, because of the ridiculous wind.
Can’t miss those shoes: “Something blue.”
I am very happy for them – the worst is when couples want to have children and can’t. However, that was definitely a strange look for the wedding, with the cheap-looking, badly fitted wedding dress, the shoes, the flower girls with the black shoes and bag dresses. Having said that, I am hardly the arbiter of good taste – wearing mismatched socks today!
The back of her wedding gown gave off 80s vibes too.
Slumlord Hugh
Council tenants win fight with billionaire Duke accused of ‘social cleansing’
EXCLUSIVE: Duke of Westminster Hugh Grosvenor wanted to demolish flats and turn them into luxury housing
Council tenants have won their battle with an aristocrat who wanted them off his land.
Duke of Westminster Hugh Grosvenor – worth £10billion – was accused of “social cleansing” over plans to demolish their flats and replace them with luxury housing.
I know I’m late for this party, but I wanted to say I’m not at all surprised. Thank you for posting. I an also imagine he charges charities and taxpayer funded institutions like the military and nhs for rent. I didn’t bother to check, but I would not be surprised.
That would explain PW at his wedding and not PH. He and Will have slumlording in common.
I swear every royal or royal-adjacent wedding puts the little girls in the wedding party in the same white dresses.
The black shoes were a surprising (by that I mean awful) choice.
I actually really like the brides dress, I agree the beige carpet and bridesmaid shoes aren’t the best though. I also didn’t love Meghan’s bridesmaid dresses and shoes with no socks or tights – if there’s not going to be tights, at least do socks with dress shoes. The sock and tight-less look seems strange for
Mary Jane style dress shoes for girls – it’s not like they’re crocs!