Special reason why the Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson are getting married at Chester Cathedral
The countdown is on until the society wedding of the year as Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster prepares to marry his bride, Olivia Henson.
On Tuesday, the couple, who will tie the knot on 7 June, took a trip to their wedding venue – Chester Cathedral – as they visited three organisations funded by the Duke's Westminster Foundation.
Hugh and Olivia are currently both based in London for work, so why have they chosen Chester Cathedral as their wedding venue?
It's largely down to the Duke's family ties, with the Grosvenor family's ancestral seat, Eaton Hall, located less than four miles from Chester Cathedral.
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When the date for their nuptials was announced, aspokesperson for Hugh and Olivia said: "The couple have chosen the cathedral for both its beauty and long association with the Grosvenor family, including to the Duke personally. Cheshire is the Grosvenor family's ancestral home and as Miss Henson's connection to the region continues to grow, they are keen to plan their wedding there."
Whilst visiting a parent-toddler music class at the Cathedral earlier this week, Hugh also shared more reasons around their choice of wedding venue.
"I think next time we’re in here will be slightly more nerve-wracking," Hugh told Town & Country. "But I'm unbelievably excited. I also 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. Because I do realise that it's going to be a big thing for the city. It's going to be certainly a huge thing for us, so we're just really grateful for all the help."
Bride-to-be 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."
The Duke won't be the first of his family members to marry in Chester. Hugh's eldest sister, Lady Tamara Grosvenor married Edward van Cutsem at the Cathedral in 2004, with the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip among the wedding guests.
Hugh is Chair of both the Grosvenor Trustees and the Westminster Foundation, which represents the charitable interests of the Duke and Grosvenor businesses.
He inherited the Grosvenor estate from his father, Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, following his death in 2016, and now has an estimated fortune of £9.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Olivia is a senior account manager at Belazu, a B-Corp certified food company based in London.
The pair were introduced via mutual friends two years ago, with their engagement announced in April 2023.
