Who Is Prince George's Godfather, The Duke Of Westminster?

In many Christian traditions that include the practice of infant baptism, the role of a godparent is to serve as a mentor and guide for a child as they grow and begin their faith journey. Over time, the title of godparent expanded beyond a religious context and is often used to distinguish a special bond between a child and a trusted adult who has agreed to take a particular interest in their health, wellness, and happiness. 

While most parents who adhere to variations of this tradition typically ask two individuals to serve as their child's godparents, the British royal family has their own way of going about this matter. Queen Elizabeth II was given seven godparents, King Charles III was christened with eight, while both Prince William and Prince Harry have half a dozen godparents each. The same rule applies to the next generation of royals. Prince William's firstborn, Prince George, has seven godparents, one of whom is one of the richest men in the United Kingdom: Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster.

Grosvenor's status as one of Prince George's godparents is unsurprising, given his impressive title and long-standing relationship with the royal family, but a closer look at the young duke's life shows that he is more than just a rich aristocrat. Grosvenor is known by people of all ranks as an unassuming, grounded, and charitable person with a steady work ethic and aspirations to do good for his community. 

Hugh Grosvenor comes from a long line of wealthy aristocrats whose family history can be traced back to 1066. Despite the family's motto, "Virtus non Stemma" or "Virtue, not ancestry," the Grosvenors are quite proud of their past and the series of fortunate events that set them up for centuries of success.

Though the Grosvenors have been a prominent family for hundreds of years, their peerage is still relatively new. Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, was given his title by Queen Victoria in 1874. However, their affiliation with royalty is traced back across the English Channel.

Hugh Grosvenor's ancestor, Gilbert le Grosveneur, came to England with William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest. The bulk of the family wealth originated from the advantageous marriage that took place 600 years later. When Sir Thomas Grosvenor married the 12-year-old Mary Davies in 1677, he collected her dowry, including 500 acres of land just outside the limits of London. As London's borders expanded, the value of the land increased exponentially. Now, some of London's wealthiest neighborhoods, such as Mayfair and Belgravia, sit on that land and are still owned by the Grosvenors.

Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, and his wife, Natalia Grosvenor, actively took steps to show all of their children that their wealth was best used to improve the lives of the people around them. In an interview with Lux, Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Hugh Grosvenor's older sister, recalled the impact of her parent's teaching methods about philanthropy. "I was about 12 when my mother and father decided to take me and my older sister to a drug-rehabilitation centre on Hope Street in Liverpool to meet two heroin addicts, to understand about drugs and addiction," Edwina remembered. "Years later, I realised I had money to give and there was a big internal wrestle with what that meant, what I was going to do with it, how I was going to do it, what would be the appropriate way."

The duke and his wife sought to keep their children grounded by selecting which educational institutions they would attend with care. "His mum, Tally ... was keen on the children having a more normal upbringing," a relative told The Telegraph in 2023. "So almost consciously didn't want them to go to all those Eton, Harrow sort of places and risk turning into that arrogant, entitled type of person." As a result, Hugh's parents enrolled him at Mostyn House, a local public primary school, for the first years of his education. He later attended high school at Ellesmere College in Shropshire.

The Grosvenor family's affiliation with the royal family dates back centuries, but the connection grew even stronger after Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, married his first wife, Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, a friend of Queen Victoria. Hugh Grosvenor himself is a living testament to the closeness of their relationship. Soon after his birth in 1991, his parents, Gerald Grosvenor and Natalia Grosvenor, asked King Charles III to be one of Hugh's godparents. The king agreed, and the 7th Duke of Westminster has since participated in royal ceremonies and even had a key role in King Charles' coronation.

Hugh Grosvenor supported the king during the coronation procession at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023, by carrying one of the four quadrants of the Royal Standard that represent the historical kings of England — three gold lions on a red background. The 32-year-old wore a ceremonial robe as he carried the flag and was soon followed by Camilla, Queen Consort, and the king.

Since infancy, Prince William has been closely affiliated with the Grosvenors. Hugh Grosvenor's mother, Natalia Grosvenor, is one of Prince William's godparents, and in later years, King Charles III asked Hugh's father, Gerald Grosvenor, to mentor young Prince William. Aside from Prince William's relationship with the older Grovsvenors, the boys became close friends. Prince Harry attended Hugh's 21st birthday party at Eaton Hall in 2012, and both Prince William and Prince Harry have been guests at Grosvenor's hunting estate in Spain.

Since Hugh Grosvenor is a friend to both the feuding princes, he has been faced with some uncomfortable circumstances that come with being stuck between two arguing brothers. This issue comes to a head in the case of special occasions where, in a perfect world, both Prince William and Prince Harry could attend without causing issues. A friend of Hugh, Prince William, and Prince Harry spoke on this issue, telling The Times, "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."

Knowing that he would eventually inherit the title of Duke of Westminster and its accompanying real estate portfolio, Hugh Grosvenor decided to take a practical approach to his higher education. He attended Newcastle University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in countryside management so he could have a basis of knowledge as he took on the intense role of large-scale land management.

Hugh Grosvenor not only heads the Grosvenor Group and its massive property portfolio, but he is also in charge of Grosvenor's investment office, which manages properties in other U.K. locations like Lancashire, Sutherland, and Chester, as well as the family's hunting estate in Southern Spain.

Hugh's father, Gerald Grosvenor, was very firm in his belief that his son needed to be self-disciplined to take on all of the responsibilities of his position correctly. The Belfast Telegraph reported the 6th Duke of Westminster saying, "He [Hugh Grosvenor] has to see himself as a caretaker, keeping the estates in good shape in his lifetime. It took me 10 years just to understand what I had inherited. It hasn't been easy." By taking on countryside management as his field of study at university, the young duke displayed his determination to perform well upon receiving his inheritance.

After his father's death, Hugh Grosvenor assumed the role of Chair of the Trustees for the Grosvenor Group. According to the group's website, "Trustees are responsible for Grosvenor's commercial and Family Office & Rural Estates activities, including matters relating to purpose, values, long-term strategy and, ultimately, success. They act as legal owners of a series of U.K. resident trusts, the beneficiaries of which are both current and future members of the Grosvenor family." As the chairman of the Group, Hugh Grosvenor has a hand in all facets of his family's assets and the proceedings of the Grosvenor Group as a whole.

Though the Grosvenor fortune is huge, the Duke of Westminster doesn't just use his money to fund his own lavish lifestyle. His parents instilled in him a sense of duty and responsibility to use the family's wealth to benefit others, and Hugh has taken that lesson in philanthropy to heart. Grosvenor serves as the head of the Westminster Foundation, a charitable entity that partners with local organizations to provide sustainable support to improve the health, wellness, and education of young people by funding community programs, schools, and youth hubs. Hugh also donated large sums of money to the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, which supports the rehabilitation and recovery of wounded members of the Armed Forces. Grosvenor also donated £10 million to Great Britain's COVID-19 relief effort.

In April 2023, Hugh Grosvenor became engaged to his girlfriend, Olivia Henson, at the family's estate, Eaton Hall in Cheshire. The couple's announcement was accompanied by a relaxed photo of Grosvenor and Henson smiling easily at the camera while surrounded by picturesque flora. The couple was photographed in very casual attire — the sleeves of Grosvenor's blue button-down shirt rolled to the elbows, and his collar popped open. Henson wore an equally comfortable-looking outfit consisting of a light teal long-sleeved t-shirt. Staying with the natural and easy-going aesthetic, Henson glowed in her minimalist makeup and gorgeous, windswept hair. They both appear excellently groomed but still undeniably organic.

Henson and Grosvenor were introduced to one another by their friends in 2021. After dating for two years, they became engaged. The official wedding date is June 7, 2024, and the ceremony will be held at Chester Cathedral.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Henson is a young professional who works as a key account manager for Belazu, an environmentally conscious import company that provides high-quality food products from around the European continent. Like the Princess of Wales, Henson studied at Marlborough College in her youth, and also attended Trinity College and studied Italian and Hispanic Studies. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a reputation for breaking away from the traditions of the royal family. Around the time of Prince Archie's christening in 2019, the duke and duchess decided not to announce publicly who their son's godparents would be; however, it was later revealed that one of their selections was Hugh Grosvenor. Given Grosvenor's longstanding friendship with both Prince Harry and his older brother, Prince William, he accepted the role of Prince Archie's godfather just as he had accepted being that of Prince Archie's older cousin, Prince George.

Being a godparent to each of the royal brothers has proved to be an awkward position for Grosvenor as he strives for neutrality amidst the rift between Prince William and Prince Harry. A notable moment of turmoil occurred when Grosvenor and his fiancée, Olivia Henson, were deciding on the guest list for their wedding. Rumors circulated that Grosvenor and Henson intentionally did not send a save the date for their wedding to the Sussexes as an intentional snub, but according to Page Six, Grosvenor and Henson did, in fact, extend the invitation to the duke and duchess. Due to what would undoubtedly be an awkward clash, Prince Harry elected to call Grosvenor to explain the circumstances and politely decline the offer to attend.

Hugh Grosvenor expands beyond business, titles, and philanthropy. He is an accomplished sportsman and upholds a generational Grosvenor tradition of shooting for sport. The 1st Duke of Westminster was also highly skilled with a firearm, but at that point in the 19th century, the targets were real birds, and the first duke was said to be able to shoot up to 2000 of them in a single day. The modern sport of skeet shooting is much easier on the pigeon and pheasant populations, and clay disks are utilized instead. These disks are launched into the air to emulate birds in flight, and the shooter receives points for successfully hitting them in mid-air. 

Grosvenor spends much of his free time practicing and traveling for the sport. His profile on the Grosvenor Group website also states that he travels worldwide to represent Great Britain in Olympic skeet shooting competitions. In 2023, Grosvenor visited Qatar, Egypt, and Italy for various skeet shooting competitions. The same year, he displayed his impressive skills closer to home at the National Clay Shooting Centre near Bisley in Surrey, United Kingdom, where he earned a bronze medal for his performance. A photo of Grosvenor standing beside his fellow competitors was posted by British Shooting (the National Governing Body for Olympic and Paralympic Shooting in the U.K.) on Instagram. 

Hugh Grosvenor has earned himself a reputation as a humble and respectable individual despite his dazzling wealth and status. From childhood, his parents took care to ensure Hugh and his sisters remained grounded and aware of their great privilege. During a 1992 interview with the Independent, his father, Gerald Grosvenor said of his son, "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." 

Hugh Grosvenor managed to make it through his university years without causing scandals or disruptions, and the public has commended him for being down-to-earth. A relative of Hugh complimented his character in a comment to The Telegraph in 2023, saying, "Hugh is a stable pair of hands ... He's not some Hooray Henry who likes getting hooned and going to 5 Hertford Street. He even has a slight Midlands lilt." 

The 7th Duke of Westminster is revered as a steadfast character not only by people of similar rank but also by the tenants living and farming on his family's land. One dairy farmer, Tom Brammall, said of Hugh, "Whenever I've met him, he's been a really unassuming, level-headed, very nice guy. "