Olivia Henson will become the new Duchess of Westminster when she marries Hugh Grosvenor in Chester Cathedral on Friday – here’s everything we know about the 30-year-old bride-to-be
The countdown is on for the society wedding of the year. Tomorrow, Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, will marry Olivia Henson in Chester Cathedral.
Despite being one of the country’s wealthiest men, Hugh prefers a quiet life away from the spotlight. And the same can be said for his future wife, who has maintained an incredibly low profile despite the excitement surrounding the couple’s wedding. So what do we know about the future Duchess of Westminster?
Olivia’s online footprint is minimal. But we do know that she was educated at the private Dragon School in Oxford, before she went off to Marlborough College, whose alumni include Princess Kate and Pippa Middleton.
She then went to Ireland to study at Trinity College in Dublin, where she got a 2:1 in Hispanic Studies and Italian.
Olivia currently works as a senior account manager at Belazu, an environmentally friendly B-corp which imports high-quality ingredients from across Europe, such as rose harissa, preserved lemons and estate-shot venison. It is not known whether she will continue to work following her marriage.
Olivia and Hugh were introduced by mutual friends and dated for two years before he popped the question. He got down on one knee at Eaton Hall outside of Chester, which has been home to the Grosvenor family since the 1400s and is where Hugh grew up.
The Duke, or ‘Hughie’ to his friends, is known for being remarkably low-maintenance – something he seems to have in common with his wife-to-be.
“Hugh is quite low-key. He takes his roles very seriously but when he’s not working he’s relaxed,” a friend told The Times . And the couple’s casual engagement photo certainly seemed to reflect this, with the pair wearing day-to-day clothing and looking incredibly relaxed in the no-fuss snapshot.
Despite that, Olivia will be frequently rubbing shoulders with some notable names – including the royal family. The Grosvenor family has long standing links to the royals; King Charles is Hugh’s godfather, and the groom is himself a godfather to Prince William’s heir and the future king, Prince George. He is also godfather to Prince Harry’s son, five-year-old Archie.
Hugh inherited his title – and the immense family fortune – when he was just 25 following the death of his father, the sixth Duke, in 2016. Hugh benefitted from the ancient rule of primogeniture, meaning that he took priority over his older sisters because he was the male heir.
Those sisters are Lady Tamara, who is married to Edward van Cutsem, a close friend of Prince William; and Lady Edwina, who is a prison reform campaigner and married to Dan Snow, the TV historian. The Duke also has a younger sister, Lady Viola, who runs an art therapy business.
Hugh also took over the family seat, Eaton Hall – and it seems the couple will settle down there, having previously split their time between Chester and London, where Olivia works.
The decision to have the wedding in Chester was, the couple said, an easy one. They spoke about their upcoming nuptials to Town & Country in May and gave an insight into their future plans.
“It’s obviously a place where we will live, where we’ll be building our lives together,” Olivia said. “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.”
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