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Duke of Westminster Hugh Grosvenor lose prestigious family title if he and his new bride Olivia Henson do not have a son, according to a new report.
The 33-year-old is marrying duchess-to-be Olivia Henson in a lavish ceremony at Chester Cathedral Friday (June 7, 2024), in what is tipped to be the wedding of the year.
If the newlyweds have no son, then the historic Duke of Westminster title will die with him.
Henson’s step-first-cousin reportedly twice removed through marriage will keep the subsidiary title, the Marquess of Westminster, alive. The Earl of Wilton, who lives in Melbourne, is also the Duke’s fourth cousin once removed.
“It is a fascinatingly strange situation in which she finds herself: if she doesn’t produce an heir, her husband’s title will die with him – and yet it is her own relative who can rightfully claim the title as his own,” Australian historian Michael Reed told The Telegraph.
Hugh Grosvenor is the richest person in the U.K. under age 40 (with a reported family net worth of $12.8 billion) and the chair of the Grosvenor Trustees and Westminster Foundation.
A spokesperson for the couple recently said: “This is an incredibly special day for the Duke and Miss Henson and they are very much looking forward to the service. It means a lot to them to marry in Chester Cathedral, especially given the Grosvenor family’s long and close personal connection to both the Cathedral and the city of Chester.”
The Duke of Westminster, speaking to The Chester Standard, explained: “We’ve obviously got a long association with the cathedral as a family so we were here for my father’s memorial, my sister’s wedding and every Remembrance Sunday that I can attend is here.
“But I’m unbelievably excited and I also 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 because I do realise that it’s going to be a big, big thing for the city.”