| Dukedom of Westminster | |
| Creation Date: | 27 February 1874 |
| 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: | 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary Titles: | Marquess of Westminster Earl Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave Baron Grosvenor Baronet, of Eaton |
| Family Seat: | Eaton Hall and Abbeystead House |
| Motto: | VIRTUS NON STEMMA (Virtue, not ancestry) |
| Grosvenor Baronets | |
| Creation Date: | 1622 |
| Baronetage: | Baronetage of England |
| First Holder: | Richard Grosvenor |
| Present Holder: | Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster |
| Remainder To: | 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.[1]
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.[2]
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.
Richard Grosvenor was created Baronet of Eaton in January 1622.[3] 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.
In 1677 Sir Thomas Grosvenor wed Mary Davies. Her dowry included 500 acres to the west of what was then the boundary of London.[4]
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.
| Created by George III of Great Britain | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name (lifespan) | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles | |
| 1st | Richard Grosvenor (1731–1802) | 1784–1802 | Henrietta Vernon | Already Baron Grosvenor | Viscount Belgrave, Baron Grosvenor |
| 2nd | Robert Grosvenor (1767–1845) | 1802–1845 | Eleanor Egerton | Son of the preceding, later created Marquess of Westminster |
| Created by William IV of the United Kingdom | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name (lifespan) | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles | |
| 1st | Robert Grosvenor (1767–1845) | 1831–1845 | Eleanor Egerton | Already Earl Grosvenor | Earl Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave Baron Grosvenor |
| 2nd | Richard Grosvenor (1795–1869) | 1845–1869 | Elizabeth Leveson-Gower | Son of the preceding | |
| 3rd | Hugh Grosvenor (1825–1899) | 1869–1899 | Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower | Son of the preceding, later created Duke of Westminster |
| Created by Queen Victoria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name (lifespan) | Period | Spouse | Notes | Other titles | |
| 1st | Hugh Grosvenor (1825–1899) | 1874–1899 | Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower Katherine Cavendish | Already Marquess of Westminster | Marquess of Westminster Earl Grosvenor Viscount Belgrave Baron Grosvenor |
| 2nd | Hugh Grosvenor (1879–1953) | 1899–1953 | Constance Cornwallis-West Violet Nelson Loelia Ponsonby Anne Sullivan | Grandson of the preceding | |
| 3rd | William Grosvenor (1894–1963) | 1953–1963 | unmarried | Cousin of the preceding | |
| 4th | Gerald Grosvenor (1907–1967) | 1963–1967 | Sally Perry | Cousin of the preceding | |
| 5th | Robert Grosvenor (1910–1979) | 1967–1979 | Viola Lyttelton | Brother of the preceding | |
| 6th | Gerald Grosvenor (1951–2016) | 1979–2016 | Natalia Phillips | Son of the preceding | |
| 7th | Hugh Grosvenor | since 2016 | Olivia Henson | Son of the preceding |
There is no heir to the Dukedom of Westminster. The Earl of Wilton is heir presumptive to the Marquessate.