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Duke of Westminster

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Dukedom of Westminster
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); 2nd and 3rd, Azure a Garb Or (Grosvenor).[1]
Creation date27 February 1874
Created byQueen Victoria
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderHugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster
Present holderHugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
Heir apparentNone
Remainder to1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titlesMarquess of Westminster
Earl Grosvenor
Viscount Belgrave
Baron Grosvenor
Baronet, of Eaton
Seat(s)Eaton Hall and Abbeystead House
MottoVIRTUS NON STEMMA
(Virtue, not ancestry)
Grosvenor Baronets
Azure, a garb Or, with canton of baronet
Creation date1622
Created byKing James VI and I
BaronetageBaronetage of England
First holderRichard Grosvenor
Present holderHugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
Remainder to1st Baronet's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten

Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the British royal family.[2]

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Dukes were each grandsons of the first. The present holder of the title is Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke, who inherited the dukedom on 9 August 2016 on the death of his father, Gerald. The present duke is a godfather of Prince George of Wales.[3]

The Duke of Westminster's seats are at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, and at Abbeystead House, Lancashire. The family's London town house was Grosvenor House, Park Lane, while Halkyn Castle was built as a sporting lodge for the family in the early 1800s. The traditional burial place of the Dukes is the Old Churchyard adjacent to St Mary's Church, Eccleston.

History of the Grosvenor family

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Richard Grosvenor was created Baronet of Eaton in January 1622.[4] Sir Richard Grosvenor, the 7th Baronet, was created Baron Grosvenor in 1761, and in 1784 became both Viscount Belgrave (Belgrave, Cheshire) and Earl Grosvenor under George III. The title Marquess of Westminster was bestowed upon Robert Grosvenor, the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, at the coronation of William IV in 1831.

In 1677 Sir Thomas Grosvenor wed Mary Davies. Her dowry included 500 acres to the west of what was then the boundary of London.[5]

The subsidiary titles are: Marquess of Westminster (created 1831), Earl Grosvenor (1784), Viscount Belgrave, of Belgrave in the County of Chester (1784), and Baron Grosvenor, of Eaton in the County of Chester (1761). The Dukedom and Marquessate are in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the rest are in the Peerage of Great Britain. The courtesy title of the eldest son and heir to the Duke is Earl Grosvenor.

Grosvenor Baronets, of Eaton (1622)

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Barons Grosvenor (1761)

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Created by George III of Great Britain
# Name
(lifespan) 		Period Spouse Notes Other titles
1st Richard Grosvenor
(1731–1802) 		1761–1802 Henrietta Vernon Later created Earl Grosvenor —

Earls Grosvenor (1784)

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Created by George III of Great Britain
# Name
(lifespan) 		Period Spouse Notes Other titles
1st Richard Grosvenor
(1731–1802) 		1784–1802 Henrietta Vernon Already Baron Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave, Baron Grosvenor
2nd Robert Grosvenor
(1767–1845) 		1802–1845 Eleanor Egerton Son of the preceding, later created Marquess of Westminster

Marquesses of Westminster (1831)

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St Mary's Church, Eccleston, Grosvenor Chapel: Cenotaph and Garter banner of Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Created by William IV of the United Kingdom
# Name
(lifespan) 		Period Spouse Notes Other titles
1st Robert Grosvenor
(1767–1845) 		1831–1845 Eleanor Egerton Already Earl Grosvenor Earl Grosvenor
Viscount Belgrave
Baron Grosvenor
2nd Richard Grosvenor
(1795–1869) 		1845–1869 Elizabeth Leveson-Gower Son of the preceding
3rd Hugh Grosvenor
(1825–1899) 		1869–1899 Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower Son of the preceding, later created Duke of Westminster
Jockey Colours of Duke of Westminster

Dukes of Westminster (1874)

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Created by Queen Victoria
# Name
(lifespan) 		Period Spouse Notes Other titles
1st Hugh Grosvenor
(1825–1899) 		1874–1899 Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Katherine Cavendish 		Already Marquess of Westminster Marquess of Westminster
Earl Grosvenor
Viscount Belgrave
Baron Grosvenor
2nd Hugh Grosvenor
(1879–1953) 		1899–1953 Constance Cornwallis-West
Violet Nelson
Loelia Ponsonby
Anne Sullivan 		Grandson of the preceding
3rd William Grosvenor
(1894–1963) 		1953–1963 unmarried Cousin of the preceding
4th Gerald Grosvenor
(1907–1967) 		1963–1967 Sally Perry Cousin of the preceding
5th Robert Grosvenor
(1910–1979) 		1967–1979 Viola Lyttelton Brother of the preceding
6th Gerald Grosvenor
(1951–2016) 		1979–2016 Natalia Phillips Son of the preceding
7th Hugh Grosvenor
(b. 1991) 		since 2016 Olivia Henson Son of the preceding

Line of succession

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There is no heir to the Dukedom of Westminster. The Earl of Wilton is heir presumptive to the Marquessate.

Line of succession (Marquess of Westminster)[6][7]
  • Thomas Egerton, 1st Earl of Wilton (1749–1814)
    • Lady Eleanor Egerton (1770–1846) m. Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster (1767–1845)
      • Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (1795–1869)
        • Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster (1825–1899)
          • Lord Hugh Grosvenor (1884–1914)
            • Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster (1910–1979)
              • Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (1951–2016)
                • Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster (born 1991)
      • Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury (1801–1883)
        • Robert Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Ebury (1834–1918)
          • Francis Egerton Grosvenor, 4th Baron Ebury (1883–1932)
            • Robert Grosvenor, 5th Baron Ebury (1914–1957)
              • (1). Francis Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton, 6th Baron Ebury (born 1934)
                • (2) Julian Francis Martin Grosvenor, Viscount Grey de Wilton (born 1959)
              • The Hon. William Wellesley Grosvenor (1942–2002)
                • (3) Alexander Egerton Grosvenor (born 1968)
              • (4) The Hon. Richard Alexander Grosvenor (born 1946)
            • The Hon. Hugh Richard Grosvenor (1919–2002)
              • (6) William Peter Wellesley Grosvenor (born 1959)

Family tree

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Duke of Westminster nominations Archived 21 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, CVQO. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Duke - Debrett's". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Prince George's godparents announced". BBC News. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  4. ^ George Edward Cokayne Complete Baronetage Volume 1 1900
  5. ^ Neate, Rupert; correspondent, Rupert Neate Wealth (25 April 2023). "Duke of Westminster: the London property baron born with 'longest silver spoon'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 December 2023. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Morris, Susan; Bosberry-Scott, Wendy; Belfield, Gervase, eds. (2019). "Westminster, Duke of". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. 1 (150th ed.). London: Debrett's. pp. 3604–3606. ISBN 978-1-9997-6705-1.
  7. ^ Morris, Susan; Bosberry-Scott, Wendy; Belfield, Gervase, eds. (2019). "Wilton, Earl of". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. 1 (150th ed.). London: Debrett's. pp. 3650–3653. ISBN 978-1-9997-6705-1.
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