Duke of Westminster
| 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 date | 27 February 1874 |
| Created by | Queen Victoria |
| Peerage | Peerage of the United Kingdom |
| First holder | Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster |
| Present holder | Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster |
| Heir apparent | None |
| Remainder to | the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Marquess of Westminster Earl Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave Baron Grosvenor Baronet of Eaton |
| Seat(s) | Eaton Hall |
| Motto | VIRTUS NON STEMMA (Virtue, not ancestry) |
| Grosvenor Baronets | |
|---|---|
 Azure, a garb Or, with canton of baronet | |
| Creation date | 1622 |
| Created by | James VI and I |
| Peerage | Peerage of England |
| First holder | Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet |
| Present holder | Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster |
| Remainder to | the 1st 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
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)
- Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet (1584–1645) was an MP
- Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet (1604–1664), a son of the 1st Baronet
- Roger Grosvenor (c. 1628–1661), a son of the 2nd Baronet, predeceased his father
- Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet (1656–1700), son of Roger
- Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet (1689–1732), eldest son of the 3rd Baronet, died without issue
- Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 5th Baronet (1693–1733), second son of the 3rd Baronet, died unmarried
- Sir Robert Grosvenor, 6th Baronet (1695–1755), third and youngest son of the 3rd Baronet
- Sir Richard Grosvenor, 7th Baronet (1731–1802) (created Baron Grosvenor in 1761)
Barons Grosvenor (1761)
| Created by George III of Great Britain | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles |
| 1 | Richard Grosvenor (1731–1802) |
1761–1802 | Henrietta Vernon | Later created Earl Grosvenor | |
Earls Grosvenor (1784)
| Created by George III of Great Britain | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles |
| 1 | Richard Grosvenor (1731–1802) |
1784–1802 | Henrietta Vernon | Previously styled as Baron Grosvenor | Viscount Belgrave, Baron Grosvenor |
| 2 | Robert Grosvenor (1767–1845) |
1802–45 | Lady Eleanor Egerton | Son of the preceding, later created Marquess of Westminster | |
Marquesses of Westminster (1831)
| Created by William IV of the United Kingdom | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles |
| 1 | Robert Grosvenor (1767–1845) |
1831–45 | Lady Eleanor Egerton | Previously styled as Earl Grosvenor | Earl Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave Baron Grosvenor |
| 2 | Richard Grosvenor (1795–1869) |
1845–69 | Lady Elizabeth Leveson-Gower | Son of the preceding | |
| 3 | Hugh Grosvenor (1825–1899) |
1869–99 | Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower | Son of the preceding, later created Duke of Westminster | |
Dukes of Westminster (1874)
| Created by Queen Victoria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles |
| 1 | Hugh Grosvenor (1825–1899) |
1874–99 | Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower Katherine Cavendish |
Previously styled as Marquess of Westminster | Marquess of Westminster Earl Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave Baron Grosvenor |
| 2 | Hugh Grosvenor (1879–1953) |
1899–1953 | Constance Cornwallis-West Violet Nelson Loelia Ponsonby Anne Sullivan |
Grandson of the preceding | |
| 3 | William Grosvenor (1894–1963) |
1953–63 | unmarried | Cousin of the preceding | |
| 4 | Gerald Grosvenor (1907–1967) |
1963–67 | Sally Perry | Cousin of the preceding | |
| 5 | Robert Grosvenor (1910–1979) |
1967–79 | Hon Viola Lyttelton | Brother of the preceding | |
| 6 | Gerald Grosvenor (1951–2016) |
1979–2016 | Natalia Phillips | Son of the preceding | |
| 7 | Hugh Grosvenor (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
- ^ Duke of Westminster nominations Archived 21 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, CVQO. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ "Duke - Debrett's". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Prince George's godparents announced". BBC News. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ George Edward Cokayne Complete Baronetage Volume 1 1900
External links
| Royal dukedoms |  | |
|---|---|---|
England  | ||
Scotland  | ||
Great Britain  | ||
Ireland  | ||
United Kingdom  | ||
Italics: This title is held by a peer who holds another of higher precedence. | ||