The Duke of Westminster

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (1951-)

The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874. The current Duke of Westminster is Major-General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor born 22 December 1951 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. (6th Duke of Westminster).

The Duke of Westminster is the son of Robert George Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton. In 1978, the Duke of Westminster married Natalia Ayesha Phillips, the daughter of Lt.-Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and his wife Georgina Wernher, in 1978. The Duchess is a descendant of Princess Augusta Charlotte of Wales and as a result their four children are in the line of succession to the British Throne.

Current Duke of Westminster Honours

Duke of Westminster KG, OBE, TD, DL

Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (2003), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1995)
Territorial Decoration (1994), Deputy Lieutenant (Cheshire) (1982) and Military and Hospitaler Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem (Knight Grand Cross) and (Grand Prior) of England.

6th Duke of Westminster and the army

The Duke of Westminster joined the Territorial Army in 1970 as a trooper. After long service and becoming an officer, including commanding 'C' squadron (The Cheshire Yeomanry) and his regiment, The Queen's Own Yeomanry, the Duke became Honorary Colonel-in-Chief of several regiments, including The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, 7th Regt. Army Air Corps, and the Canadian Royal Westminster Regiment and Colonel Commandant Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps.

In 2004 the Duke of Westminster was appointed to the new post of Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) with promotion to the rank of Major General, the first reservist to hold such rank since the 1930’s.

In 2007, the Duke of Westminster was succeeded in this post by Maj Gen Simon Lalor. In the 2008 Birthday Honours he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for his military service

Duke of Westminster honorary military appointments:

Colonel-in-Chief The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry
Colonel-in-Chief 7th Regt. Army Air Corps
Colonel-in-Chief Canadian Royal Westminster Regiment
Colonel Commandant Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps.

Duke of Westminster - Britain's richest Brit

The Duke of Westminster is currently ranked 4th in the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated wealth of £7,000m (£7 Billion.) The Duke of Westminster remains the richest aristocrat having been Britain's wealthiest individual for many years, The Duke was overtaken in 2004 by Roman Abramovich and has now dropped to fourth place behind Lakshmi Mittal (Steel magnate) and Alisher Usmanov. The Duke has fallen out of the top three for the first time since 1999.

Sunday Times Rich List 2011

1st	Lakshmi Mittal	£17,514m
2nd	Alisher Usmanov	£12,400m
3rd	Roman Abramovich	£10,300m
4th	Duke of Westminster	£7,000m

The Duke's estimated fortune of £7 billion ($14 billion) comes largely from property in central London, where he owns approximately 300 acres of the most exclusive commercial and residential property in Mayfair and Belgravia (including the land on which the U.S. Embassy stands, in Grosvenor Square), as well as estates in Lancashire, Cheshire and Scotland.

The Duke of Westminster and Property

In addition to managing its traditional holdings, the Duke of Westminster's property company, the Grosvenor Group, is an active property developer with interests around the world. It is the main developer of The Paradise Project in Liverpool.

The Duke of Westminster charitable work

The Duke is involved with and actively supports over 250 charities and other organisations. The Duke is president of a number of charities including The Institution of Environmental Sciences, and became Foundation Chancellor of the University of Chester in 2005.

Further Reading

Duke of Westminster helps raise a RECORD £17,600 for ABF The Soldiers' Charity
The 4th Breitling at Banks Lyon Abbeystead Clay Pigeon Shoot was held at Duke of Westminster's estate near Lancaster on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Duke of Westminster on Desert Island Discs
Read about who the Duke picked for Desert Island Discs (back in 1995).

Latest News Articles about the Duke of Westminster

The Duke of Westminster becomes Patron of Cheshire Wildlife Trust
Cheshire Wildlife Trust, a charity dedicated to preserving Cheshire's plants, animals and wild places, announce The Duke of Westminster as their new Patron.

The Duke of Westminster named the DLA Piper Business Person of the Year
The Duke was named for his company Grosvenor’s investment in and development of Liverpool One

The Duke of Westminster was Guest of Honour at the North West Property Awards
The Duke of Westminster was Guest of Honour at the ceremony, with Liverpool One, the mixed use scheme to be opened by his Grosvenor group in May named Regeneration Project of the year.

The Duke of Westminster launches appeal for £1.3m autistic respite centre
The appeal was begun by the society’s president, the Duke of Westminster, with a reception at his family seat, the grand Eaton Hall, in Cheshire.

Duke of Westminster owns three of the best 25 paintings in private hands
According to the Telegraph the Duke of Westminster collection has three paintings that rate as "the best privately owned" in the UK.