Hugh Grosvenor, 33, will wed on June 7 – and Prince William will be an usher
READ MORE: Chester decorated with 100,000 flowers paid for by Duke Of Westminster to mark his marriage to Olivia
Henson – as preparations for wedding of Britain’s most eligible bachelor kick off
The man known as ‘Britain’s most eligible bachelor’ is set to shed that label when he ties the knot on June 7.
Hugh Grosvenor, 33, the 7th Duke of Westminster and an Olympian who has competed in skeet shooting competitions, will marry his fiancee Olivia Henson, 31, in Chester, in what has been called the society wedding of the year.
And it is set to be a major event: Chester is being decorated with 100,000 flowers, which will be planted in displays across the city throughout the Summer, paid for by the groom himself to mark his marriage.
Some 400 guests are expected to attend the nuptial do at historic Chester Cathedral and the reception in the Grosvenor family’s vast Cheshire home, Eaton Hall.
Among the hundreds of guests will be one very familiar face – Hugh’s good friend Prince William, 41, who will reportedly be an usher during the big day.
In fact, despite Hugh’s preference for keeping a low profile, he is close with few members of the Royal Family.
The Duke is obviously well connected as the son of Gerald Grosvenor, who died in August 2016, when Hugh was just 15 years old.
King Charles (then Prince Charles) was close enough to Gerald to ask him to be a mentor to young Prince William.
Further cementing the relationship between the two families, Charles was asked to be Hugh’s godfather, attending his 1991 baptism.
While Hugh did not attend school with the William and Harry (while they went to Eton, he studied at the £8,500-per-term Mostyn House, which was then known as Ellesmere College), he maintained a relationship with both of them.
In fact, when Hugh, who is reportedly Britain’s richest man under 40, celebrated his 21st birthday with a very lavish bash at the Grosvenor family’s 11,000-acre Eaton Hall, Prince Harry was among the guests.
However, it has been reported that Harry will not be attending the wedding, with some claiming this is due to the risk that his rift with the other royals could overshadow the big day.
Some reports say he was not invited, so as to avoid any drama.
A friend of William and Harry was cited by the Times as saying: ‘It’s incredibly sad it has come to this.
‘Hugh is one of very few close friends of William’s 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.’
However, other sources have suggested that Prince Harry was invited, but chose to turn down the invitation.
According to some report, this is because he had considered himself to have a relationship with Hugh than his brother does.
A source recently told The Mail on Sunday: ‘William was asked to have a prominent role in the wedding and that’s what triggered Harry to decline an invitation.
‘Apparently he [Harry] was put out by the request when he thought it should have been him.’
Referencing the lack of public details about the occasion, the source added: ‘Both the Palace and Hugh’s people decided to hold dear the operational part of the wedding once the leak about Harry not attending made the papers.’
Prince George may be attending, and even playing a role in the wedding according to some reports.
However, other reports say Prince George, will be taking a SATs exam at school that day and won’t be able to go.
The Princess of Wales, 41, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, is also expected not to go to the wedding.
It is not known whether King Charles and Queen Camilla will be at the Chester event, though some royal expects have predicted it is unlikely they will attend.
This could reportedly be because of what happened at the 2004 wedding of Hugh’s older sister.
Charles and Camilla turned down their invitations at the time to Lady Tamara Grosvenor and Edward van Cutsem’s wedding, which was held at the same venue as the duke’s upcoming wedding: Chester Cathedral.
Camilla Parker Bowles, as she was then, had been told that she would not be allowed to sit with Prince Charles and would instead be seated several rows back and be made to arrive separately.
This was because of royal protocol since Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended the ceremony, along with Princes William and Harry.
However, William will not only be there, he will be playing a key role.
This comes as no surprise: the two are so close that Hugh is one of Prince George’s godfathers (as well as reportedly being godfather to Prince Harry’s son Archie).
Hugh and Olivia’s big day will not mark the future king’s first attendance at a Grosvenor wedding.
Back in 2004, William was an usher at the wedding of Hugh’s oldest sister Lady Tamara Grosvenor and Edward van Cutsem.
Photos from the wedding show a 22-year-old William standing next to the then 14-year-old Hugh.
And over the years, Hugh has been part of Royal Family events too.
For example, last year, he had a crucial role in King Charles’ Coronation.
During the event, the 33-year-old carried the Standards of the Quarterings of the Royal Arms and Standard of the Principality of Wales.
He did so among other prolific figures, including the Earl of Caledon, the Marquess of Anglesey, and the Earl of Dundee.
In 2018, the Duke of Westminster was a guest of honour at Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.
And back in 2011, he attended Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton, as a guest of honour.
After his wedding, the Duke and his new wife have plans to live in Chester, with Olivia recently saying ‘it’s obviously a place where we will live’.
Discussing why they will move to Cheshire following the nuptials, Hugh spoke about his association with the area.
He said: ‘We’ve obviously got a long association with the cathedral as a family. We were here for my father’s memorial, my sister’s wedding and every Remembrance Sunday that I can attend is here.’
He added that he is ‘unbelievably excited’ about the upcoming do, and said he wanted to make it clear how ‘unbelievably helpful people have been, how supportive they’ve been’.
Hugh, known as ‘Hughie’ to his friends, is one of Britain’s wealthiest landowners after inheriting his father’s £10billion estate at the age of just 25 in 2016 following the death of his 64-year-old father from a heart attack.
He inherited 300 acres across the affluent London areas of Mayfair and Belgravia, as well as estates in Oxford, Scotland and properties around the globe. This includes his current residence at Eaton Hall, the 10,872-acre family estate.
Once dubbed Britain’s most eligible bachelor, he was introduced to Olivia by mutual acquaintances in 2021 before announcing their engagement in April last year.
Despite his preference for keeping a low profile, Hugh and Olivia’s wedding is expected to be extremely lavish.
The Times has reported that among the those expected to be in attendance are members of the Van Cutsem family, who are close to the Windsors, and linked to the Grosvenors by marriage.
Other attendees will include Lady Zoe Warren, the aristocratic yoga guru and youngest child of the 14th Earl of Galloway, and her husband, Jake Warren, a godson of Princess Diana and son of Queen Elizabeth II’s racing manager, John Warren.
Local schoolchildren are among the choristers who will sing the couple down the aisle, marking the Duke’s close connection with the city that’s closest to Eaton Hall, the family seat.
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