The 7th Duke of Westminster

by Christos Zabounis

Until last Friday, June 7, Hugh Grosvenor was the UK’s most wanted bachelor. The reasons for that are many, among which, for the money lovers, is his property. Ever since the 1600s, when one of his ancestors began buying land in the London countryside (now the chic districts of Belgrave and Mayfair) to today, when the Grosvenor Group owns 1,500 properties, his family has, slowly and steadily got rich. In the list published annually by the newspaper “Sunday Times”, Hugh ranks first among the under-40 wealthy Britons “weighing” 10 billion pounds. He is richer than his sponsor, King Charles, and has more acres of land than the entire royal family of England. His close friendly relationship with the heir to the throne William was confirmed by the baptism of the first-born son of Prince George, but also the honorary position of Usher, in the wedding ceremony held in Chester Cathedral, a small city in the North West of England where the family mansion is located. A propos. Eaton Hall is surrounded by an estate of 40,000 acres. Unknown to the general public, due to his “allergy” to publicity, the 7th Duke of Westminster, a title his great-grandfather received in 1874 from Queen Victoria, the 33-year-old aristocrat found himself at the center of tabloid attention a year ago, when his engagement to Olivia Henson was announced. The reason: His close relationship with Prince Harry, since he is the godfather of Archie’s son. “Will the self-exiled man with his wife Meghan Markle come from California or not,” was the question that made headlines in the specialized British press. Finally, in a nutshell, Harry was absent from the wedding of the year, probably due to his brother’s veto.

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