All eyes will be on Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, and his fiancée Olivia Henson on Friday as the couple tie the knot in front of 400 guests in Chester Cathedral.
There is huge interest in the wedding, not least because the 33-year-old groom is the richest person under the age of 40 in the UK, and the 14th wealthiest person overall, according to The Sunday Times Rich List. The property tycoon is said to be worth an immense £10bn.
But what do we know about the man once described as the UK's most eligible bachelor, and how did he forge his royal connections? We take a closer look…
Privileged upbringing
Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor was born on January 29, 1991, in London and is the third of four children born to the late Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster and his wife, Natalia, also known as Tally, a descendant of George II and the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
He has two older sisters - Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor and Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor and a younger sister, Lady Viola Georgina Grosvenor.
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Hugh Grosvenor inherited his title from his late father, Gerald (Chester Chronicle)Hugh and his siblings were educated at a state primary school and then went on to study at the private Mostyn House School in Cheshire. He continued his education at Ellesmere College and then earned a degree in countryside management from Newcastle University.
He hit the headlines when details of his lavish 21st birthday were revealed - with reports stating the celebration had cost a whopping £5million. It was held at the Grosvenors' sprawling estate, Eaton Hall near Chester, in January 2012, where Hugh was joined by around 800 guests - including Prince Harry.
Royal connections
Hugh's connection to the royals stems back to his late father, Gerald Grosvenor. The 7th Duke of Westminster was a close friend and confidante of King Charles; so much so that the then-Prince Charles is one of Hugh's godfathers. In fact, the bond between the two men was so strong that Charles later asked Gerald to act as a mentor for a young Prince William.
Gerald's widow, Natalia, meanwhile, is a godmother to Prince William and in turn, the late Princess Diana was chosen to be a godmother to Gerald's second daughter, Lady Edwina Grosvenor.
Gerald was a close friend and confidante of King Charles (PA)The two families' connections have remained strong. Given their wealth and lifestyle, Princes William and Harry moved in similar circles to Hugh and the Duke developed strong friendships with both.
Prince William and Kate asked Hugh to be godfather to their son and future King, Prince George; Hugh is the youngest of George's seven godparents. And he is also believed to be a godfather to Prince Harry's firstborn child, Archie.
Becoming a Duke - and inheriting a fortune
Hugh became the 7th Duke of Westminster when his father sadly died from a heart attack at the age of 64 in 2016. At the time of his succession, he inherited an estimated wealth of £9billion and gained several new estates. He was just 25 at the time.
Hugh took over an immense property portfolio that spans land in the capital's most prestigious postcodes – including half of Mayfair and 300 acres of Belgravia.
Hugh has an estimated wealth of £10bn (Getty Images)
Lady Edwina with her husband Dan Snow (PA)The source of the immense wealth comes from The Grosvenor Group, whose holdings also include the American Embassy, estates in Scotland and Spain, Liverpool city centre, Tokyo apartment blocks, a 'large chunk' of Silicon Valley, and the entirety of Annacis Island, just off Vancouver. According to Tatler , the Grosvenor family money primarily dates back to the 1600s, when they first began buying land in London.
When it came to his inheritance, Hugh benefited from a centuries-old rule that means peerages only pass down the male line (known as male primogeniture). He has two older sisters, Lady Tamara and Lady Edwina Grosvenor. But when their father suddenly died, the family title went to Hugh, his third child and only son. He also has a younger sister, Lady Viola.
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Lady Tamara married Prince William's close friend Edward van Cutsem in 2004 and has three children, Jake, Louis and Isla van Cutsem.
Lady Edwina married TV presenter and historian Dan Snow in 2010 and also has three children, Zia, Wolf and Orla. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Lady Viola married Dragoon Guards officer Angus Roberts in a secret family wedding and celebrated with a party in Kenya in 2022.
Hugh's late father once admitted he "felt sorry for Hugh", adding: "He will be under enormous pressure. He's a lucky boy to be given all the material things in life, but he'll need to be robust mentally to survive. There are many pitfalls when one inherits such an enormous amount of money, especially in adolescence.
"He's been born with the longest silver spoon anyone can have, but he can't go through life sucking on it. He has to put back what he has been given."
Over the years, he has also led a campaign for the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, which was initiated by his father and continues to support the rehabilitation of seriously wounded or injured members of the Armed Forces. He has also represented Team GB at Olympic Skeet Shooting competitions overseas and in the UK.
In 2020, the Duke donated £12.5million to the UK's coronavirus relief effort. Speaking at the time, he said: "On behalf of my family and everyone at the Grosvenor Estate, I want to say a huge thank you to all our amazing NHS staff and everyone providing critical frontline services."
The wedding
Back in April, it was announced that Hugh had become engaged to his girlfriend of two years Olivia Henson. The couple said in a statement: "The Duke of Westminster and Miss Olivia Henson are delighted to announce they are engaged to be married.
"The couple, who have been together for two years, recently became engaged at the Duke's family home at Eaton Hall in Cheshire. Members of both their families are absolutely delighted with the news."
The wedding is taking place at Chester Cathedral on Friday 7 June 2024 in what is being billed as the society event of the year.
Hugh and Olivia released a low-key photo to celebrate their engagement (Handout)Last month, the 'nearlyweds' paid a visit to their wedding venue - the Grosvenor family's ancestral estate, Eaton Hall is less than four miles from Chester Cathedral - and spoke of their excitement.
"I think next time we're in here will be slightly more nerve-wracking. But I'm unbelievably excited," Hugh told Town & Country. "I just wanted to make it very clear how unbelievably helpful people have been, how supportive they've been so far which I'm unbelievably grateful for."
Olivia added: "It's obviously a place where we will live, where we'll be building our lives together. And we're slowly transitioning to move up from London and be much more permanent here and really putting roots down. So actually, yes it was a really easy decision in the end."
Some 400 guests are expected to attend, including some notable faces. Prince William is expected to act as an usher on the day but because of Prince Harry's ongoing feud with the royal family, he is expected to stay away.
Close friend Prince William is expected to be an usher on the day (Getty Images)According to The Times, Harry was invited to Hugh's wedding, but over a phone call with the groom agreed to remain in the US in what is described as a "civilised understanding". This move in turn cleared the way for William to perform his job as an usher at Friday's ceremony.
A friend of William and Harry's told the publication: "It's incredibly sad it has come to this. Hugh is one of very few close friends of William and Harry's who has maintained strong bonds and a line of communication with both.
"He wishes they could put their heads together and patch things up, but realises it's unlikely to happen before the wedding. He wanted to avoid anything overshadowing the day, especially for Olivia, and doesn't want any awkwardness." A spokesman for Grosvenor told The Times: "We are not in a position to comment on the guest list."
It is expected that William will attend the wedding without his wife the Princess of Wales, who is continuing her recovery following a cancer diagnosis. It is also believed that King Charles, a godfather of Hugh, and Queen Camilla also won't be able to attend having just returned from France from D-Day commemorations the previous day.
Future plans
The Duke looks set to settle down to the 'farming life of a country gentleman' following his wedding with Olivia. Friends told the Telegraph that the 33-year-old, who studied countryside management at university, has "a genuine love of the land" - entirely fitting given his position as one of the UK's largest landowners.
Notably, Hugh is also the president of the Country Trust charity, which encourages children from disadvantaged backgrounds to connect with "the land that sustains us all" through visits to farms across the country, including his own Grosvenor Farms on the Eaton Estate.
Jill Attenborough, CEO of the Country Trust, told the publication: "He's really aware of his responsibility as the next generation of farmers and landowners and he gently, certainly not in a sort of pushy way, tries to draw in his network as well of 'next gen' to talk about whether they might also welcome children into their farms and estates and showcase what they’re doing for a more sustainable future."
She added that Hugh aims to take part as much as possible in the school visits to his farm and get "stuck in" with the children. "When he takes part in a visit, it's wonderful because he's just on a level where he's loving being there with them and they love interacting with him," Ms Attenborough added.
The Duke is also currently involved in an ongoing project to create the largest continuous area of wildflowers in the country using local Cheshire wildflower seed, and he is also passionate about timber production and developing his "cutting-edge" dairy farm.
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