Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster

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The Duke of Westminster in 1997

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster , KG , CB , CVO , OBE , TD (born December 22, 1951 in Omagh , Northern Ireland , † August 9, 2016 in Preston , Lancashire ) was a British peer , military and businessman. He was one of the richest men in the UK .

Origin and title of nobility

He was the only son of Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster . When his marriage apparently he carried the courtesy title Earl Grosvenor from 1967 to 1979 . When his father died in 1979, he inherited his title of nobility as 6th Duke of Westminster , 8th Marquess of Westminster , 9th Earl Grosvenor , 9th Viscount Belgrave , 9th Baron Grosvenor and 16th Baronet , of Eaton. Due to the title of nobility, he was also a member of the British House of Lords until the House of Lords Act 1999 .

Early years

Grosvenor grew up on an island in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland. He received his education at Sunningdale School in Berkshire and Harrow School in London .

Economic activity

As the richest aristocrat in the United Kingdom, Grosvenor topped the lists of the richest people in the country for many years. He stood in 2009 at number 29 of the list of the richest people in the world of Forbes Magazine .

Grosvenor's net worth was estimated at approximately 8.3 billion euros ($ 11 billion). An essential part of it was real estate in the London noble districts Mayfair , Belgravia and Pimlico with a size of about 1.2 km². There were also lands in Lancashire , Cheshire (including the Eaton Hall country estate and larger parts of the city of Chester ) and Scotland .

Grosvenor's business interests were bundled in the Grosvenor Group , which now also acts as a project developer for real estate around the world.

In 2005, Grosvenor was appointed Chancellor of Chester University.

From 1995 to 2001 he was Grand Prior of the Grand Priory of England and Wales of the Order of Lazarus .

Military career

Grosvenor joined the Territorial Army in 1970 . He then served as company commander and regiment commander. In 2004 he was finally promoted to major general as the first reservist since the 1930s . He held the newly created post of Assistant Chief of Defense Staff (reserve and cadets).

Grosvenor was also honorary colonel of several units in the British Army and a Canadian regiment.

Prostitution scandal

According to British tabloids , Grosvenor was said to have used prostitutes in early 2007. They claimed that he had also spoken to them about state and military secrets.

family

The Duke in the robe of the Order of the Garter

Gerald Grosvenor was married to Natalia Ayesha Phillips (* 1959) since 1978, whose direct ancestor is the Russian poet Alexander Sergejewitsch Pushkin and thus also his ancestor Abraham Petrovich Hannibal . The couple had four children:

  • Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor (* 1979) ⚭ 2004 Edward Bernard Charles van Cutsem (* 1973)
  • Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor (* 1981), ⚭ 2010 Daniel Robert Snow (* 1978)
  • Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster (* 1991)
  • Lady Viola Georgina Grosvenor (* 1992)

When he died in 2016 at the age of 64 after a sudden illness, his only son, Hugh Grosvenor, inherited his titles and most of the estate.

Orders and decorations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The World's Billionaires 2009 . Forbes.com, May 2, 2009; accessed on August 10, 2016.
  2. ↑ Ross Hall, Alex Palmer: Spitz Roast, Hooker exposes British VIPs using sex club that ruined New York governor . ( Memento of August 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) News of the World , March 16, 2008, accessed August 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, dies aged 64 . bbc.com; accessed on August 12, 2016
  4. ^ The London Gazette : No. 60173 (Supplement), p. 3 , June 16, 2012.
predecessor Office successor
Robert Grosvenor Duke of Westminster
1979-2016 		Hugh Grosvenor
personal data
SURNAME Grosvenor, Gerald, 6th Duke of Westminster
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nobleman and landowner
DATE OF BIRTH December 22, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Omagh , Northern Ireland
DATE OF DEATH August 9, 2016
Place of death Preston , Lancashire