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).

### First holder

Hugh Grosvenor,3rd Marquess of Westminster

### 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

### Motto

VIRTUS NON STEMMA(Virtue, not ancestry)

**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.

The present holder of the title is Hugh Grosvenor, the 4th Duke, who inherited the dukedom on 22 December 1998 on the death of his father, Edward. The present duke is a godfather of Prince Victor of Windsor.

The 4th Duke's heir apparent is his third child and eldest son Louis Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor (born 1956)

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. 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)

 1
(1731–1802)

## Earls Grosvenor (1784)

 1
(1731–1802)
 2
(1767–1845)

## Marquesses of Westminster (1831)

 1
(1767–1845)
Viscount Belgrave
 2
(1795–1869)
 3
(1825–1899)

## Line of succession

Louis Robert Hugh Grosvenor (born 1956), the eldest son of the 4th Duke, is the heir apparent to the Dukedom and is styled Earl Grosvenor by courtesy.