Duke of Westminster

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]

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
MonarchQueen Victoria
PeeragePeerage of the United Kingdom
First holderHugh Grosvenor,
3rd Marquess of Westminster
Present holderHugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
Heir apparentNone
Remainder tothe 1st 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
MottoVIRTUS NON STEMMA
(Virtue, not ancestry)
Grosvenor Baronets
Azure, a garb Or, with canton of baronet
Creation date1622
MonarchJames VI and I
PeeragePeerage of England
First holderSir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet
Present holderHugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster
Remainder tothe 1st Baronet's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten

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 Cambridge.[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. The traditional burial place of the Dukes is the Old Churchyard adjacent to St Mary's Church, Eccleston.

History of the Grosvenor family

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.

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
#NamePeriodSpouseNotesOther titles
1Richard Grosvenor
(1731–1802)
1761–1802Henrietta VernonLater created Earl Grosvenor

Earls Grosvenor (1784)

Created by George III of Great Britain
#NamePeriodSpouseNotesOther titles
1Richard Grosvenor
(1731–1802)
1784–1802Henrietta VernonPreviously styled as Baron GrosvenorViscount Belgrave, Baron Grosvenor
2Robert Grosvenor
(1767–1845)
1802–45Lady Eleanor EgertonSon of the preceding, later created Marquess of Westminster

Marquesses of Westminster (1831)

Created by William IV of the United Kingdom
#NamePeriodSpouseNotesOther titles
1Robert Grosvenor
(1767–1845)
1831–45Lady Eleanor EgertonPreviously styled as Earl GrosvenorEarl Grosvenor
Viscount Belgrave
Baron Grosvenor
2Richard Grosvenor
(1795–1869)
1845–69Lady Elizabeth Leveson-GowerSon of the preceding
3Hugh Grosvenor
(1825–1899)
1869–99Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-GowerSon of the preceding, later created Duke of Westminster
Jockey Colours of Duke of Westminster

Dukes of Westminster (1874)

Created by Queen Victoria
#NamePeriodSpouseNotesOther titles
1Hugh Grosvenor
(1825–1899)
1874–99Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Katherine Cavendish
Previously styled as Marquess of WestminsterMarquess of Westminster
Earl Grosvenor
Viscount Belgrave
Baron Grosvenor
2Hugh Grosvenor
(1879–1953)
1899–1953Constance Cornwallis-West
Violet Nelson
Loelia Ponsonby
Anne Sullivan
Grandson of the preceding
3William Grosvenor
(1894–1963)
1953–63unmarriedCousin of the preceding
4Gerald Grosvenor
(1907–1967)
1963–67Sally PerryCousin of the preceding
5Robert Grosvenor
(1910–1979)
1967–79Hon Viola LytteltonBrother of the preceding
6Gerald Grosvenor
(1951–2016)
1979–2016Natalia PhillipsSon of the preceding
7Hugh Grosvenor
(1991–)
since 2016Son 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, CVQO. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  2. "Duke - Debrett's". Debrett's. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  3. "Prince George's godparents announced". BBC News. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  4. George Edward Cokayne Complete Baronetage Volume 1 1900
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