The Richest Aristocrats in Britain | The Dukes of Westminster Mini Documentary

Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster

Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster (born 29 January 1991), styled as Earl Grosvenor until August 2016, is a British aristocrat, billionaire, businessman, and owner of Grosvenor Group. He became Duke of Westminster on 9 August 2016, on the death of his father Gerald, 6th Duke of Westminster.

 

As of 2021, the Duke and his family are 12th on Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated net worth of £10.045 billion. He was the world's richest person aged under 30.

 

Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor is the third child and only son of Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Natalia (née Phillips). He was baptised into the Church of England on 23 June 1991.

 

Through his mother, he is descended from the Romanov imperial family of Russia, the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalia Nikolayevna Goncharova,[4] as well as from Pushkin's great-grandfather—African freed slave turned Russian nobleman Abram Petrovich Hannibal. Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor is also a descendant of the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host Petro Doroshenko through Natalia Nikolayevna Goncharova. She is the great-great-granddaughter of the famous Ukrainian Hetman.

 

His elder sisters are Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor (married Edward van Cutsem, son of Hugh van Cutsem) and Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor (married TV historian Dan Snow. The latter is a prison reformer and philanthropist, who co-founded The Clink Restaurants. The youngest sister is Lady Viola Georgina Grosvenor.

 

The letters patent that created the dukedom provide that the title go to the eldest male heir. As a duke, he ranks highly in the order of precedence in England and Wales.

 

Education

All the siblings were educated at a local state primary school, followed by a small private day school, Mostyn House School, near the family home of Eaton Hall, Cheshire. He then attended Ellesmere College, Shropshire, from 2000 to 2009. At Ellesmere, Grosvenor served as a School Prefect, Captain of Meynell House and Captain of the First XI Football Team in his final year. He was awarded Full Colours in Football, and, as a member of the School's Combined Cadet Force, he obtained a BTEC First Diploma in Public Services with Distinction.

 

From 2010 to 2013, he studied countryside management at Newcastle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree with upper second-class honours

Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about 10,872 acres (4,400 ha).

 

The first substantial house was built in the 17th century. In the early 19th century it was replaced by a much larger house designed by William Porden. This in turn was replaced by an even larger house, with outbuildings and a chapel, designed by Alfred Waterhouse. Building started in 1870 and concluded about 12 years later. By 1960 the fabric of the house had deteriorated and, like many other mansions during this period, it was demolished, although the chapel and many of the outbuildings were retained. A new house was built but its design was not considered to be sympathetic to the local landscape, and in the late 1980s it was re-cased and given the appearance of a French château.

 

The house has been surrounded by formal gardens since the 17th century, the design of which has changed over the centuries in accordance with current ideas and fashions, as has the surrounding parkland. A variety of buildings are included in the estate, some decorative, others built for the business of the estate; many of these are listed buildings. The house and estate are not normally open to the public, but the gardens are open on three days a year to raise money for charity, and some of the estate's buildings can be hired for charitable purposes.