Hugh Grosvenor , 2nd Duke of Westminster Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor , 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO ( familiarly " Bendor " ) ( 19 March 1879 – 19 July 1953 ) was a British landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the world . He was the son of Victor Grosvenor , Earl Grosvenor , son of the 1st Duke of Westminster , and Lady Sibell Lumley , the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough . Nickname " Bend ' Or " . From his childhood and during his adult life he was known within family circles as " Bendor " , which was also the name of the racehorse Bend Or owned by his grandfather the first Duke , which won the Epsom Derby in 1880 , the year following his grandson ' s birth . The name is a jovial reference to the ancient lost and much lamented former armorials of the family " Azure , a bend or " , which were awarded to the Scrope family in the famous case of 1389 heard before the Court of Chivalry , known as Scrope v Grosvenor . His wife Loelia wrote in her memoirs : " Of course everybody , even his parents and sisters , would normally have addressed the baby as " Belgrave " so they may have thought that any nickname was preferable . At all events it stuck , and my husband ' s friends never called him anything but Bendor or Benny " . Estate . His ancestral country estate in Cheshire , the 54 - bedroom Eaton Hall consisted of 11 , 000 acres of parkland , gardens and stables . The main residence had its walls hung with master works , paintings by Goya , Rubens , Raphael , Rembrandt , Hals , and Velázquez . An avid participant in the hunting life , the Duke owned lodges reserved for the sport in Scotland and France . For sea excursions , he had his choice of two sailing vessels , “ The Cutty Sark ” , and a yacht , “ Flying Cloud ” . For ground transportation he had 17 Rolls Royce automobiles and a private train built to facilitate travel from Eaton Hall directly into London where his townhouse Grosvenor House was located . Grosvenor House was later leased to The United States for use as the American Embassy . Like many of his social class whose lives were ones of privilege and leisure , the Duke occupied himself in the pursuit of pleasure . He was described as “ a pure Victorian who had eyes for his shotgun , his hunters , his dogs … a man who enjoyed hiding diamonds under the pillow of his mistresses … ” Military service . After succeeding his grandfather as Duke of Westminster in 1899 , he served in the Second Boer War with the Imperial Yeomanry until 1901 , as an ADC to Lord Roberts and Lord Milner . He subsequently invested in land in South Africa and Rhodesia . In 1908 , the Duke competed in the London Olympics as a motorboat racer for Great Britain . On 1 April 1908 , he was named honorary lieutenant - colonel of the 16th Battalion , The London Regiment , a post he held until 1915 . The Duke served with the Cheshire Yeomanry during World War I , developing a prototype Rolls - Royce Armoured Car for their use . During their 1916 campaign in Egypt , as part of the Western Frontier Force under General William Peyton , the Duke ( then a major ) commanded the armoured cars of the regiment and took part in the destruction of a Senussi force at the Battle of Agagia on 26 February 1916 . On 14 March 1916 , he led the armoured cars on a raid that destroyed the enemy camp at Bir Asiso . Learning that the crews of HMT " Moorina " and HMS " Tara " were being held at Bir Hakkim , he led the nine armoured cars - with three armed but unarmoured cars and a further 28 cars and ambulances - on a 120 - mile dash to rescue them before returning . The Senussi withdrew rather than engage in a fight . He received the DSO for this exploit . He was subsequently promoted colonel and on 26 May 1917 , he was named honorary colonel of the regiment . Chanel . In 1925 , he was introduced to Gabrielle ( " Coco " ) Chanel after a party in Monte Carlo and pursued her . He was as extravagant with her as he was with all of his lovers . He purchased a home for Chanel in London ' s prestigious Mayfair district , and in 1927 gifted her with a parcel of land on the French Riviera at Roquebrune - Cap - Martin where Chanel built her villa , " La Pausa " . His romantic liaison with Chanel lasted ten years . An illustration of both Westminster ’ s extravagance and orchestrated technique in the courting of women has endured in the form of various apocryphal stories . He purportedly concealed a huge uncut emerald at the bottom of a crate of vegetables delivered to Chanel . Disguised as a deliveryman , Westminster appeared at Chanel ’ s apartment with an enormous bouquet of flowers . His ruse was only uncovered after Chanel ’ s assistant offered “ the delivery boy ” a tip . Political ideology . In 1931 , the Duke , a Conservative " outed " his brother - in - law , William Lygon , 7th Earl Beauchamp ( 1872 – 1938 ) , as a homosexual to the King and Queen . He reportedly hoped to ruin the Liberal Party through Beauchamp . Homosexuality was a criminal offence at the time , and the King was horrified , saying , " I thought men like that shot themselves . " During the run - up to World War II , he supported various right - wing and anti - Semitic causes , including the Right Club . " His anti - Semitic rants were notorious . " In her book “ " The Light of the Common Day , " ” Diana Cooper reminisces back to the day of September 1 , 1939 . She and her husband , Duff Cooper were lunching at London ’ s Savoy Grill with the Duke of Westminster . She recalls : Most of the twentieth century was plagued by the fear of global Communist domination . The moneyed elites , and those of The Duke ’ s aristocratic lineage particularly felt the threat . What caused this group the most anxiety was that Europe would be taken over by the Soviet Union — they perceived Communist domination , not Fascism was the enemy bent on destroying their lives of wealth and status . The Duke , known for his pro - German sympathies , was reportedly , instrumental in influencing his former mistress , Coco Chanel , to use her association with Winston Churchill to broker a bilateral peace agreement between the British and the Nazis . It was in late 1943 or early 1944 that Chanel , and her then current lover , Nazi espionage agent , Baron Hans Gunther Von Dinklage , did undertake such an assignment . Code named “ Operation Modellhut , ” it was an attempt through the British Embassy in Madrid , via Chanel , to influence Churchill , and thereby persuade the British to negotiate a separate peace with Germany . This mission as planned ultimately met with failure . Marriages and issue . On 16 February 1901 , the Duke married Constance Edwina ( Shelagh ) Cornwallis - West ( 1876 – 1970 ) . They had three children : On 26 November 1920 , the Duke became the second husband of Violet Mary Nelson ( 1891 – 1983 ) . They were divorced in 1926 . Westminster married Loelia Mary Ponsonby ( 1902 – 1993 ) on 20 February 1930 . The couple was unable to have children and were divorced in 1947 after several years of separation . He married Anne ( Nancy ) Winifred Sullivan ( 1915 – 2003 ) on 7 February 1947 . She outlived him by fifty years . Death and succession . The Duke died in 1953 , aged 74 , leaving two daughters . His titles and the entailed Westminster estate passed to his cousin , William Grosvenor , and thence to the two sons of his youngest half - uncle Lord Hugh Grosvenor ( killed in action 1914 ) . The title is now held by Gerald Grosvenor , 6th Duke of Westminster , who was born during the 2nd Duke ' s lifetime .