The Duke of Westminster, Major-General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, died today (Tuesday) at the age of 64 his estate have confirmed.
The billionaire landowner, who was worth £9.35 billion (c$13 billion), passed away at Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire.
Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke’s only son, immediately succeeds his father to the Dukedom of Westminster.
Buckingham Palace have said that The Queen is aware of the news and has sent a private message of condolence to the family.
The Duke, who was Britain’s richest landowner was a close friend of the Royal Family. He particularly close to Prince Charles and a trustee of Princess Diana.
A spokesperson said this evening: “His family are all aware and they ask for privacy and understanding at this very difficult time. No further comment will be made for the time being but further information will follow in due course.”
The spokesperson added that he had suddenly become ill on his Abbeystead Estate shortly before his death.
Funeral arrangements will be released at a later date.
The Duke leaves behind his wife, Natalia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, four children and four grandchildren.
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Rich From Land Stolen From English @ Time Of Norman Invasion 1066.
I doubt it, considering that they only became Baronets in 1622!
His ancestor came over with the Norman invasion and he was given lands which was the usual way of paying the loyal followers. Their wealth added to of course by dynastic marriages etc. over the years.
You obviously don’t know your history Ian Parker. The Invasion in 1066 was not by the French but by the same Viking/Norse descendants as the ones that were already here. It was just another member of the family claiming his right to be king and not Harold. He changed his name to William after wining what he claimed was his rightful crown. It was brother and mercenary fighting brother and mercenary. ‘Norman’s’ were the ‘Norsemen’ who were given that part of France to stop them killing Frenchmen. The Engle’s and Saxon’s who also lived in some parts of the country had also taken the land previously from the Britons and Belgique earlier settlers. So nothing was actually stolen from any English. I am sure you will be wanting to pass on what was yours to younger family members when you die. I bet you won’t be giving it away to the state or for the benefit of others.
What was William’s original name? Apart from Ba**ard that is.
Guillaume de Normandie
Oh you mean William of Normandy. I thought you meant he had changed his name.
What part of William of Normandy being different from William the Conquerer or William the Bastard do you not understand.
What part of William just being the English form of Guillaume do you not understand?
You also appear to be a fool who cannot understand what you read. Read and digest my message again before posting a silly reply. For clarity I will expand my reply. His name was ‘William of Normandy’ (or in French Guillaume de Normandie), and his title was ‘Duke of Normandy’. After he overthrew Harold he changed his name to ‘William The Conqueror’, and his title became ‘William I’. He was called by the supporters of Harold in his claim to the throne of England ‘William the Bastard’ before what he claimed was his rightful title of king of England. If you want to challenge subscribers on historical matters best you study it first instead of thinking what you read in comics or Wikipedia is history. I suspect you also of the belief that Harold died at the so named ‘Battle of Hastings’, with an arrow in his eye.
Veronica, we live in different time zones which makes this discussion difficult enough without the added problem of you not understanding English. I have proved my point so this discussion is at an end.
You insulting cretin. Different time zones? Different planets I would say, and no I don’t get my information from the internet. My degree tells me most of what I want to know or asking extremely well educated colleagues who find your comments laughable.
“He changed his name to William after wining what he claimed was his rightful crown.” Your words – changed it from what? If anyone is a fool it is you. It is funny that you mention Wikipedia a I showed your comments to a few colleagues and they thought that’s from where you had your information. In essence some of it is correct but it is so garbled a comment it is difficult to completely understand. William was called the Bastard long before any of Harold’s supporters even knew him. His own people called him that because that was what he was. I doubt very much though that they called him that to his face once he inherited the Dukedom. I could dissect the rest of your original comment as well but can’t really be bothered.
One may be accuse another of land stolen but if gained and maintained by the family and legally owning such, the another not the owner who complains has no right of complaint.
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