All About The Duke Of Westminster's 3 Sisters
It may not have been one of the most iconic royal weddings in history, but the nuptials of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, and Olivia Henson was a star-studded affair featuring the crème de la crème of Britain's upper class. Tying the knot at Chester Cathedral in June 2024, the couple's fairytale wedding satiated the public's thirst for noble pageantry following a marked lull in royal weddings.
Among the pomp, the surprise protests, and of course, all the worst-dressed stars at the Duke of Westminster's wedding, there were Hugh's three stylishly understated sisters. While Hugh has garnered much publicity since succeeding the dukedom in 2016 — notably becoming the richest millennial in the U.K. – his sisters, Lady Tamara, Lady Edwina, and Lady Viola Grosvenor, have kept pretty low profiles.
Despite being born into an esteemed aristocratic family, the Grosvenor sisters live relatively normal lives away from the glare of the public eye. But while Tamara, Edwina, and Viola choose to remain on the down low, that doesn't mean they don't lead fascinating lives. Let's learn all about the Duke of Westminster's three sisters.
Despite being elder, Lady Tamara and Lady Edwina didn't inherit their father's fortune
The British aristocracy has a long history of following primogeniture, meaning the eldest male child, regardless of having elder sisters, is automatically the family heir. This system means aristocratic women have not been allowed to inherit titles, and by extension the family fortune, from their fathers. Though this may seem like a relic of a bygone age, the Duke of Westminster's daughters suffered the consequences of such traditions upon his death.
When the former Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, died in 2016, his son, Hugh Grosvenor, immediately succeeded the role. Aged just 25 at the time, Hugh inherited his father's vast £9 billion (around $11.3 billion) fortune and large swathes of the elite Mayfair and Belgravia areas of London. Accordingly, the newly appointed Duke of Westminster enjoyed his billions despite the fact that two of his sisters — Lady Tamara and Lady Edwina Grosvenor — are older than him. His sisters did, however, each reportedly inherit a modest £20,000 (around $25,200) from their father.
Following Hugh's 2024 wedding, there were renewed calls for a change in the archaic aristocratic tradition, with the campaign group, Daughters' Rights, taking their fight to Parliament. "We would hope the Duke of Westminster would support our fight for equality ... The Westminsters strike me as the kind of modern aristocratic family that would support the idea of a first born daughter enjoying the same inheritance rights and benefits as a firstborn son," campaigner Carew Pole told The Telegraph.
Lady Tamara's wedding reportedly inspired King Charles III to propose to Queen Camilla
Born in 1979, Lady Tamara Grosvenor is the Duke of Westminster's oldest sister. She was the first of the siblings to get married, tying the knot to her childhood friend and King Charles III's godson, Edward van Cutsem, in 2004. The pair wed at Chester Cathedral in a lavish, royal-studded ceremony; Queen Elizabeth II was in attendance, along with Prince William and Prince Harry. The royal crowd attracted much attention from locals. "I thought Lady Tamara looked beautiful. It was such a big occasion that it was worth standing out in the cold and rain for," Chester local Linda Jones told the Crewe Chronicle.
The wedding was not without drama, though. Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales, was angry over seating arrangements that placed Queen Camilla several rows behind him. Subsequently, he threatened that he wouldn't attend Lady Tamara and Edward's big day unless Camilla was shown some respect. The couple ended up being no-shows at the ceremony.
Lady Tamara's wedding reportedly ended up inspiring Charles to pop the question to his lady love. "Protocol dictated that Camilla and Charles were seated separately at the wedding," said a source, per the Belfast Telegraph. "Charles was furious. He announced their engagement three months later." King Charles and Queen Camilla's wedding then took place just 5 months after Tamara and Edward's nuptials.
Lady Tamara has been in trouble with the law
The usually media-shy Lady Tamara Grosvenor found herself in the spotlight in 2017 when she was caught speeding. She accumulated three points on her license as a result of the offense.
Then, in 2019, she made headlines when she was again accused of speeding near her family estate. She failed to confirm to police whether she was driving the speeding vehicle, claiming that she had too many cars to recall which one she had been driving. "We have six fleet vehicles under my name," she reportedly told the magistrates, per the Daily Mail. "We have a farm business and it's easier to have cars employees can drive. Whichever car is spare they take ... I simply don't know if I was the driver at the time. I didn't want to lie on the paper."
Appearing in court, she later admitted to prosecutors that she hadn't done everything possible to help police with their investigation to identify the driver. Accordingly, she was fined over £700 (around $880) and received a further six points on her license.
Lady Edwina is Princess Diana's goddaughter
Princess Diana's relationship with the royal family was rocky at best — and outright toxic at its worst — but the late princess was close to her godchildren. Born in 1981, Lady Edwina Grosvenor became the Duke of Westminster's middle sister and the first of Diana's 17 godchildren. The beloved royal was present at Lady Edwina's christening in 1982, and at the time, Edwina was even considered as a future bride for Prince William, who was born months later.
Following Diana's tragic death in 1997, it was revealed that the people's princess loved her godchildren dearly. Her will was modified to ensure that her godchildren were each left something to remember her by. "The trustees have decided on the items for each of the children," solicitor Martyn Gowar said, per The Independent. "There are a range of things like pictures, nice pieces of china and some special photographs. They are not really things of monetary value and in the context of a [£21 million] estate they are insignificant. They are purely of sentimental value."
Lady Edwina is passionate about prison reform
Growing up, Lady Edwina Grosvenor slowly became aware of her privilege. She was first exposed to inequality when her father made her visit a drug rehabilitation clinic when she was 12. "I was just absolutely blown away," she recalled to The Times. "I wasn't horrified, I didn't think, 'That's disgusting.' I remember thinking, 'Why aren't we taught this in school?'"
But it was during a gap year trip to a prison in Nepal that she found her calling in life. "I became fascinated by the idea of people being born into different families and the way that that can determine their life journeys," she told The Guardian. "After working in the prison in Nepal I knew I had found what I wanted to do." Thus her work as a passionate prison reform advocate was born. After attending Northumbria University to study sociology and criminology, she worked at HM Prison Styal, a U.K. women's prison that had a bleak record on prisoner suicide, and then HM Prison Garth, where she worked closely with the Restorative Justice program.
Lady Edwina also founded Chair of One Small Thing, a prison reform charity. Speaking to Social and Sustainable Capital, she explained that she believes in offering an alternative to prison for female offenders. "The number of women sent to prison for minor offenses is disproportionately high," she said. "Only one in five women will have committed a violent offense compared to one in three in the general prison population."
Dan Snow, Lady Edwina's husband, is a celebrity historian
In 2010, Lady Edwina Grosvenor wed Dan Snow, a celebrity historian and cousin of vaunted British journalist Jon Snow. Despite her noble lineage, Lady Edwina opted to have a low-key wedding at Bishop's Lodge in Liverpool, attended by a few close family members and friends. It was a rather fitting choice for the aristocrat who spends her days in U.K. prisons. "Neither of us has ever wanted a big white wedding," the couple said, per the Daily Mail. "We are delighted we have been free to plan a simple and relaxed wedding exactly as we wished, with our families around us."
In her interview with The Guardian, Grosvenor revealed that her husband is supportive of her prison reform work. "Dan is pretty relaxed about it," she said. "My parents and Dan are more proud of the fact that I'm actually doing something that I love doing and that means something to me. I love going to work — and they just see that."
The couple went on to welcome three children. In an interview with The Times, Snow revealed that he and Lady Edwina didn't want their children to grow up grossly rich, and the couple was therefore considering giving away their kids' inheritance to charity. "She has embarked on a career in philanthropy," Snow said of his wife. "She gives a lot of money away at the moment. The question is, does she give away everything?"
Lady Viola believes in giving back
Born in 1992, Lady Viola Grosvenor is the Duke of Westminster's youngest sister. Like her big sister, Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Viola has been active in philanthropic endeavors. She is a patron of St Vincent's Family Project, which provides support to vulnerable and struggling families in the Westminster area of London. The charity holds drop-in sessions for families dealing with poverty, mental health issues, and domestic violence, and provides arts therapy to marginalized children.
Moreover, Lady Viola been involved in anti-bullying initiatives, lending her time as an ambassador for the charity, Kidscape, which is supported by the Grosvenor family's The Westminster Foundation. Taking a hands-on approach at the charity, she led a workshop aimed to help children develop their confidence.
She's also an ambassador of the Cyberscene Project, which seeks to combat cyberbullying through theater. In 2017, Cyberscene staged a play, entitled "Cookies," at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London; along with singer Lily Allen, Viola supported the students involved in the play. According to a 2023 Grosvenor family profile in The Times, Viola now runs her own art therapy business.
Lady Viola married a British officer in secret
Being the baby of the family, Lady Viola Grosvenor was the last of the sisters to get married. In 2022, she wed Angus Roberts, an officer in the Royal Dragoon Guards, which is a regiment in the British army. However, the couple's wedding wasn't exactly a traditional royal wedding.
Lady Viola and Roberts chose to tie the knot in a secret ceremony at the hotel and resort owned by the latter's family, located on an island off the coast of Kenya. Photos were reportedly banned from the wedding, with Viola in particular wishing to keep her private life out of the limelight. "It was all very hush-hush," a source told the Daily Mail. "Viola didn't want any publicity at all."
Following her nuptials, Lady Viola has reportedly adopted her husband's surname. "Viola is married and her surname is now Roberts," added a family friend, though no further details on the couple's hush-hush celebration have been revealed.