Duke of Westminster

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Dukedom of Westminster
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
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

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)

Barons Grosvenor (1761)

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)

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)

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)

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 Son of the preceding

Line of succession

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

Family tree

See also

References

  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. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 12 December 2023.

External links