| Honorific-Prefix: | Major General His Grace |
| The Duke of Westminster | |
| Office: | Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
| Term Start: | 19 February 1979 |
| Term End: | 11 November 1999 as a hereditary peer |
| Predecessor: | The 5th Duke of Westminster |
| Successor: | Seat abolished |
| Birth Name: | Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor |
| Birth Date: | 22 December 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom[1] |
| Death Place: | Preston, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
| Residence: | Eaton Hall, Cheshire |
| Children: |
|
| Blank1: | Other titles |
| Data1: | Earl Grosvenor (1967–1979) |
| Website: | www.grosvenorestate.com |
| Allegiance: | United Kingdom |
| Branch: | British Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1973–2012 |
| Rank: | Major General |
| Unit: | North Irish Horse |
Major General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, (22 December 1951 – 9 August 2016) was a British landowner, businessman, aristocrat, Territorial Army general, and peer. He was the son of Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and Viola Lyttelton. He was Chairman of the property company Grosvenor Group. In the first-ever edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published in 1989, he was ranked as the second richest person in the United Kingdom,[2] with a fortune of £3.2 billion (approximately £ in today's value), with only Queen Elizabeth II above him.
Born in Northern Ireland, Grosvenor moved from an island in the middle of Lower Lough Erne to be educated at Sunningdale and Harrow boarding schools in the south of England. After a troubled education, he left school with two O-levels. He entered the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and served in the Territorial Army, where he was promoted to major-general in 2004.
Via Grosvenor Estates, the business he inherited along with the dukedom in 1979, the Duke was the richest property developer in the United Kingdom and one of the country's largest landowners, with property in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton and Cheshire, including the family's country seat of Eaton Hall, as well as 300acres of Mayfair and Belgravia in Central London.[3] The business also has interests in other parts of Europe. According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2016, the Duke was worth £9.35 billion, placing him sixth on the list and making him the third-richest British citizen.
The Duke died on 9 August 2016 after suffering a heart attack. The titles then passed to his only son, Hugh.
The Grosvenor family's first development was in Mayfair, Central London, in the early 18th century; the second big development came around 100 years later and was in another exclusive part of London – Belgravia, developed by the family after the end of Napoleonic Wars and the conversion of Buckingham Palace – which is just one mile east. After developing the two parts of Central London, the family business expanded. During the second half of the 20th century, the business expanded into the Americas and developed Annacis Island and Vancouver, both in British Columbia in the west of Canada in the 1950s. The family business started developing in Australia in the 1960s. They moved to Asia in the early 1990s and to Continental Europe just before the millennium. In April 2000, the firm moved into new London offices. The business was headed by the 6th Duke himself, who was Chairman of the Trustees.
The Duke was also Director of Claridge's Hotel from 1981 until 1993, and of Marcher Sound from 1992 until 1997.[4]
As a child, the Duke lived on an island in the middle of Lower Lough Erne in Northern Ireland (Ely Lodge, Blaney, County Fermanagh). His early education was in Northern Ireland before he was sent at age 7 to Sunningdale School in Ascot, followed by Harrow. Because of his Fermanagh accent, the Duke struggled to fit in at first, and even after his accent was "bullied" out of him, he found it difficult to make friends. Unhappy at boarding school, his education suffered.[5] [6] He left school with two O-levels in history and English.[5] [7]
As Earl Grosvenor he joined the Territorial Army in 1970, as a trooper, family estate responsibilities having caused him to abandon a Regular Army career in the 9th/12th Lancers.[8] After entering RMA Sandhurst in 1973, he passed out as an officer cadet and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve of the Royal Armoured Corps (Queen's Own Yeomanry) on 13 May 1973. He was promoted to lieutenant on 13 May 1975 and to captain on 1 July 1980. He was promoted to the acting rank of major on 1 January 1985 and to the substantive rank on 22 December.
Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 April 1992, he subsequently commanded the North Irish Horse, the Cheshire Yeomanry Squadron, founded by his ancestors, and the Queen's Own Yeomanry. He was promoted to colonel on 31 December 1994 and was appointed honorary colonel of the 7th Regt Army Air Corps (1 January 1996) and the Northumbrian Universities Officer Training Corps (30 November 1995). Promoted to brigadier on 17 January 2000, he was also appointed Honorary Colonel of the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry on 14 May 2001. He was also appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Royal Westminster Regiment, the North Irish Horse, and as Colonel Commandant Yeomanry.
The Duke was Grand Prior of the Priory of England of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem, 1995–2001.[9] In 2004, he was appointed to the new post of Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets), with promotion in the rank of major-general. In March 2007, having served in the Ministry of Defence as Assistant CDS for four years, he handed over responsibility for 50,000 reservists and 138,000 cadets to Major General Simon Lalor, in the wake of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal in which Westminster was also implicated. The Duke became Deputy Commander Land Forces (Reserves) in May 2011.[10] He retired from the Armed Forces in 2012.
The Duke was President of the BLESMA from 1992, and the Yeomanry Benevolent Fund from 2005, national Vice-President of the Royal British Legion from 1993, and the Reserve Forces' Ulysses Trust from 1995, the Not Forgotten Society from 2004, and Chairman of the Nuffield Trust for the Forces of the Crown from 1992, all until his death. He was Vice-President of the Royal Engineers Music Foundation 1990–94.[4]
In 2011, having already funded a feasibility study, the Duke purchased the estate at Stanford Hall, Nottinghamshire, to make possible the creation of a Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) to provide the highest quality support for military casualties.[11] Work started on the £300m project in April 2016,[12] and was completed in 2018 to replace those at Headley Court.[13] [14] The Duke remained actively involved in the project until his death.[15]
He was Vice-President of the Royal United Services Institute from 1993 until 2012, President of The Tank Museum, Bovington, from 2002, and a committee member of the National Army Museum between 1988–1997 and from 2013 until his death.[4]
Despite his poor educational attainments, Westminster was given several honorary degrees and fellowships (listed below) in later life and took an outward-looking interest in youth. He was Director of the International Students Trust from 1976 until 1993, Pro-Chancellor of Keele University from 1986 until 1993, Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University from 1992 until 2002, and first appointed Chancellor of the University of Chester in 2005, serving until his death.[4]
He was a supporter of The Prince's Trust and was a committee member of the Trust and a Patron from 2001 for North West England.[4]
His main personal recreations were field shooting and fishing. He served as President of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust for 1987–2000 and Vice-President thereafter,[16] President of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation from 1992 until 2000, and the Atlantic Salmon Trust from 2004 until his death. He was a member of the MCC and Royal Yacht Squadron and President of Worcestershire County Cricket Club in 1984–1986 and of the Youth Sports Trust 1996–2004.[4]
He was President of the committee planning the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester from 1998, and from 1991 until 1994 had been Director of the committee set up to coordinate the projected 2000 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics that would have been held at Manchester had the British bid succeeded.[4]
He served as a judge in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament in 1987.
The Duke of Westminster married Natalia Ayesha Phillips, the daughter of Lt-Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and his wife Georgina Wernher, in 1978. His wife is a descendant of the Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and therefore of his African ancestor Abram Gannibal as well as of George II. Their children are:
In 1998, the Duke suffered a nervous breakdown and depression, citing the overwhelming pressures of business and public life.[7] His depression worsened after reports in newspapers that he had employed the services of prostitutes.[25]
The Duke died on 9 August 2016 at Royal Preston Hospital in Preston, Lancashire, after suffering a heart attack at his Abbeystead Estate.[26] [27] A private funeral attended by close relatives was held on 12 August, and a memorial service was held at Chester Cathedral on 28 November.[28] He is buried in the family plot at St Mary's Church, Eccleston.[29]
That the Grosvenor family stood to pay very little, if any, inheritance tax on his £9bn+ fortune led to calls for a review of how the inheritance of trust funds and similar assets are handled in the UK.[30] [31] Gerald Grosvenor
1951 - 1967: Mr Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, Esq
1967 - 1979: Earl Grosvenor
1979 - 1982 His Grace The Duke of Westminister
1982 - 1987 His Grace The Duke of Westminister DL
1987 - 1991 His Grace The Duke of Westminister CStJ DL
1991 - 1994 His Grace The Duke of Westminister KStJ DL
1994 - 2003 His Grace The Duke of Westminister OBE KStJ TD DL
2003 - 2004 His Grace The Duke of Westminister KG OBE KStJ TD DL
2004 - 2008 His Grace The Duke of Westminister KG OBE KStJ TD CD DL
2008 - 2012 His Grace The Duke of Westminister KG CB OBE KStJ TD CD DL
2012 - 2016 His Grace The Duke of Westminister KG CB CVO OBE KStJ TD VR CD DL
| Country | Date | Appointment | Ribbon | Post-nominal letters | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 6 February 1977: | Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | ||||
| United Kingdom | 13 January 1987 | Commander of the Order of St John | CStJ | [32] Promoted to KStJ in 1991 | ||
| United Kingdom | 11 November 1991 | Knight of the Order of St John | KStJ | |||
| United Kingdom | 1994 | Territorial Decoration | TD | |||
| United Kingdom | 30 December 1994 | Officer of the Order of the British Empire | OBE | |||
| House of Orléans | 1995 | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus | ||||
| United Kingdom | 6 February 2002 | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | ||||
| United Kingdom | 23 April 2003 | Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter | KG | |||
| Canada | 2004 | Canadian Forces' Decoration | CD | |||
| House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | 2006 | Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I | ||||
| United Kingdom | 14 June 2008 | Companion of the Order of the Bath | CB | |||
| United Kingdom | 6 February 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | ||||
| United Kingdom | 29 May 2012 | Volunteer Reserves Service Medal | VR | |||
| United Kingdom | 16 June 2012 | Commander of the Royal Victorian Order | CVO |
| Major General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, KG, CB, CVO, OBE, TD, CD, DL | |
| Crest: | A Talbot statant Or |
| Notes: | The dukedom of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874. |
| Coronet: | A Coronet of a Duke |
| Escutcheon: | 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) |
| Supporters: | On either side a Talbot reguardant Or collared Azure |
| Motto: | Virtus Non Stemma (Virtue not ancestry) |
| Orders: | Order of the Garter |
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