British high society is gearing up for the wedding of the year as the Duke of Westminster and his fiancée Olivia Henson are set to marry in a matter of weeks.
Hugh Grosvenor, 33, and Trinity College alum Olivia, 31, will say ‘I do’ in a ceremony at Chester Cathedral on 7 June.
And, considering that the Duke, who was named the UK’s wealthiest person under 40 for the second year running in the Sunday Times Rich List last week, it’s likely to be a very exclusive and lavish affair.
Excitement is brewing among high society ahead of the wedding; and particularly for the young couple themselves, who recently visited the venue to chat with members of the congregation.
During a day out in Chester, the couple also visited three charities; Cheshire Dance, Storyhouse and the Cathedral Music Trust.
Ahead of the society wedding of the year, we take a closer look at what will be in store for the Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson on their big day
During their trip to their wedding venue, Hugh joked: ‘Next time we’re in here will be slightly more nerve-wracking.’
Among the guests is future King Prince William, 41, who will be performing the role of an usher during the ceremony.
Hugh and William have long enjoyed a close friendship – with the Duke of Westminster named as Prince George’s godfather. So it is perhaps unsurprising that the Prince of Wales will take on a starring role in the nuptials.
The Duke of Westminster and his fiancée Olivia Henson are set to tie the knot in Chester Cathedral on June 7
However, aside from the royal father-of-three, the 400-strong guest list, like many of the details of the wedding, have been kept under wraps.
The Duke is obviously well connected as the son of Gerald Grosvenor, who died in August 2016 when Hugh was just 15 years old.
As well as Prince William, Hugh is also close friends with Prince Harry (and is also godfather to Prince Archie).
He is also an Olympian and has competed in skeet shooting competitions – and may well have picked up pals from this corner of his life.
But as the countdown is officially on for what is set to be a multi-million pound wedding, what can we expect from Hugh and Olivia’s big day?
THE VENUE
The couple will tie the knot at Chester Cathedral; a venue that holds a special place in Hugh Grosvenor’s heart
The Duke of Westminster, 33, revealed to his local paper the Chester Standard that people within the religious community in Chester have been ‘unbelievably helpful’
The Duke and future Duchess of Westminster will marry in the stunning Chester Cathedral, near to where Hugh, 33, grew up.
Speaking to his local newspaper, the Chester Standard, he revealed the reason why he chose the Cathedral to say his vows.
‘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,’ he said.
‘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.
‘It’s going to be certainly a huge thing for us and we’re grateful for all the help really.’
He and Olivia also discussed their plans to eventually move to Eaton Hall, where the Duke grew up.
The bride-to-be revealed it was an ‘easy decision’ to move to Chester eventually, and she explained the couple are already transitioning away from London and up to Chester as they plan for their future together.
THE CROWD
Crowds are expected to line the streets on the big day just as they did for Hugh’s sister’s wedding in 2004
Speaking about his big day, Hugh said the occasion will be a ‘big, big thing for the city’.
And if his sister Lady Tamara Grosvenor’s wedding in 2004 to Edward van Cutsem is anything to go by, he’s not wrong.
On the day of her nuptials, crowds lined the Chester streets in order to catch a glimpse of the bride, groom and guests – who included Prince William, Prince Harry and the late Queen.
A report from the Crewe Chronicle after the wedding said the arrival of William and Harry at Chester Cathedral sent the crowds ‘wild’.
It reported swarms of teenage girls screamed ‘marry me William’ as he walked into the Cathedral.
Meanwhile, more than 100 police officers were deployed around the city to ensure smooth sailing on the day – a security presence likely to be replicated on June 7.
THE GUESTS
Prince William
Prince William, pictured with Grosvenor in 2004, was at one point in the running to be the Duke’s best man
Prince William, one of the Duke’s closest friends, is a confirmed attendee at the wedding in Chester in June 7.
It was reported on Sunday that William will play a key role in the nuptials, and will act as an usher when guests file into Chester Cathedral.
Friends have suggested the Prince of Wales was first asked in December to be an usher at the wedding at Chester Cathedral next month. At one stage, he was even said to have been earmarked as a best man.
Last night, a well-informed source 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.’
When Prince William’s eldest son Prince George was born in 2013, Hugh Grosvenor, known to friends as ‘Huey’, was named godfather.
Prince George
The Mail on Sunday reported this weekend that, alongside his father, Prince George, the duke’s godson, is also set to play a prominent role in the wedding.
When he was asked to be godfather to the future king in 2013, the Duke was the youngest of the seven godparents.
As the young prince, 10, takes a starring role in the wedding, it will come as he prepares to head to secondary school in September.
The Duke’s sisters
The wedding of Lady Tamara Grosvenor, and Edward van Cutsem. The King and Queen chose to turn down their invitations to the 2004 wedding
Lady Edwina Grosvenor and her husband, TV historian Dan Snow, will be in attendance and Edwina’s brother’s wedding (pictured at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018)
Hugh Grosvenor is one of four siblings, and the only boy. When his father Gerald died from a heart attack in 2016 at just 64 years old, Hugh inherited the Dukedom as his only male heir.
Hugh’s sisters are Lady Tamara, 42, who is best friends with Prince William, Lady Edwina, 41, and Lady Viola, 29.
The siblings will of course be in attendance at the wedding with their families.
Lady Tamara married her husband Edward van Cutsem at the same venue in 2004 (in a service attended by the late Queen, Prince William and Prince Harry), which saw crowds lining the streets of Chester to get a look at the bride and groom, as well as the high society attendees.
She and her husband have three children; Jake, 14, Louis, 12 and Isla, nine.
Lady Edwina Grosvenor is a prison reform campaigner and chair of One Small Thing, an organisation which aims to redesign the justice system for women and their children.
She is married to TV historian Dan Snow, with whom she shares three children Zia, 12, Wolf, 10, and Orla nine.
Lady Viola Grosvenor married her husband Angus Roberts, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, in 2022.
THE NO-SHOWS
Harry and Meghan
Harry and Meghan have already been excluded from next month’s wedding, even though Hugh, who has an estimated fortune of £10billion, is reportedly the godfather of their son, Prince Archie. Hugh is believed to have felt the Sussexes’ appearance could cause tensions with the Royal Family
As many senior members of the royal family prepare to attend the society wedding of the year, one couple will be notably absent from the festivities.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will remain in the US while their son Prince Archie’s godfather ties the knot.
Amid reports that the Prince of Wales will be an usher at the wedding, sources told the Mail on Sunday that Harry was ‘put out’ by the decision because he had always regarded himself as being closer to the Duke.
The source claimed: ‘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.’
Last year, it was claimed that Prince Harry had been ‘snubbed’ from the wedding, but a source close to the Sussexes was at pains to explain to US publication Page Six that both Meghan and Harry had in fact received invitations, but had jointly decided to decline.
Catherine, Princess of Wales
The Princess of Wales has not been pictured in an official appearance since Christmas Day 2023 and is not expected to attend the wedding due to her health
The Princess of Wales has not appeared in public since Christmas Day 2023, after she underwent abdominal surgery and doctors later found cancerous cells in her body.
Since then, Kate, 41, has been recuperating at home while undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy.
Aside from a few glimpses, such as an emotional video in which she confirmed the cancer diagnosis and a heavily disputed Mother’s Day photo which she later admitted had been ‘edited’, Kate has not made any public appearances so far this year.
As such, Kate is not expected to attend the wedding – but we can be certain she has received an invitation.
THE MAYBES
King Charles and Queen Camilla
The society wedding of the year is less than three weeks away, yet King Charles and Queen Camilla have still not confirmed their attendance, I hear.
The attendance of King Charles and Queen Camilla at the society wedding of the year is still unconfirmed.
Reports have suggested Their Majesties have turned down invitations to the shindig as a result of a ‘snub’ directed at Camilla when Hugh’s sister, Lady Tamara wed Edward van Cutsem in 2004.
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.
Tensions were heightened by reports that Emilie van Cutsem, the groom’s mother, and Camilla had fallen out after each is alleged to have criticised the behaviour of the other’s children.
Charles ultimately excused himself from the event with just days to go, saying he had to visit Warminster barracks to meet the families of soldiers serving in Iraq. Camilla was described as ‘otherwise engaged’.
According to royal author Sarah Bradford, Camilla was so infuriated that she told Charles the status quo was no longer acceptable. Their own engagement was announced three months later.
The King, who is Grosvenor’s godfather, is still undergoing cancer treatment and will be travelling to France the day before the ceremony next month with the Queen and Prince William to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
It is unclear whether Princess Charlotte, nine and Prince Louis, six, will be on the attendee list at the wedding (pictured in Sandringham on Christmas Day)
With their father, Prince William, and oldest brother Prince George, in attendance at the wedding, the younger Wales siblings may well be present at Hugh Grosvenor’s nuptials.
However, considering that the Princess of Wales is not expected to attend the wedding, it may be that Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six, remain at home with their mother.
OTHER GUESTS
Dan Snow
TV historian Dan Snow, who married Lady Edwina Grosvenor in 2010, will also be in attendance at the wedding.
TV historian Dan Snow, who married Lady Edwina Grosvenor in 2010, will be among the attendees at the wedding.
Speaking about the family into which he married, Dan previously told The Times: ‘They’re a lovely, close family, really close. The four of them are a team. It’s extraordinary.’
Although he married into extraordinary wealth, Dan has spoken in the past about his wife’s philanthropic career, which may lead to the couple giving away their children’s inhertance.
In contrast to her siblings, Lady Edwina decided to wed Dan in a much more low-key ceremony at Bishop’s Lodge in Woolton, Liverpool.
The couple were pictured at Harry and Meghan’s Windsor wedding at St George’s Chapel in 2018.
Olivia’s Belazu colleagues
Olivia Henson is currently based in London and works for quality ingredient company, Belazu, which sells products such as harissa paste and preserved lemons for home cooks who want to up the ante on their recipes.
The company’s ethos is providing sustainable, good quality ingredients, and Olivia has been described as something of a foodie.
It’s not certain who from Olivia’s side of friends and family will be invited to the wedding – but it’s likely some of her colleagues will be in attendance.