Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster

Major-General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, KG, CB, OBE, TD, DL (born 22 December 1951 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland), is the son of Robert George Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton. In 2005, he became Chancellor of the University of Chester. He was educated at Harrow School and Sandhurst.

Military career

After leaving Harrow School with a single O-level, the Duke failed the entrance examination to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.cite web| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=435511&in_page_id=1770| title=Daily Mail, 12th February 2007| accessdate=2007-06-16] The Duke joined the Territorial Army in 1970 as a trooper.

Later in 1973 the Duke attended Sandhurst and subsequently commanded the(The Cheshire Yeomanry) Squadron, founded by his ancestors, and the The Queen's Own Yeomanry. He was also appointed the Honorary Colonel of several Regiments, including the 7th Regt. Army Air Corps, the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, the Queen's Own Yeomanry, Northumbria Universities Officer Training Corps, Colonel in Chief of the Canadian Royal Westminster Regiment and Colonel Commandant Yeomanry.

In 2004 he was appointed to the new post of Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) with promotion to the rank of Major General. He was the first reservist holding such rank since the 1930s, but it was said that he 'privately never kidded himself that he would have achieved such seniority but for his wealth and social status'.

In March 2007, having served in the Ministry of Defence for four years he handed over the responsibility of 50,000 Reservists and 138,000 Cadets to Major General Simon Lalor. The Duke is now engaged in the Reserve Review in the same Rank. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for his military service in the 2008 Birthday Honours.

Personal life

As a child the Duke lived on an island in the middle of Loch Erne. His early education was in Ulster and then he went to Sunningdale School and then on to Harrow.

The Duke married Natalia Ayesha Phillips, the daughter of Lt.-Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and his wife Georgina Wernher, in 1978. The Duchess is a direct descendant of the Russian poet Alexander S. Pushkin, and therefore of his ancestor Ibrahim Hannibal. The Duchess' older sister is Alexandra Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, wife of James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn.
*Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor (b. December 20, 1979) married Edward Bernard Charles van Cutsem (November 6 2004)
*Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor (b. November 3, 1981)
*Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor (b. January 29, 1991), the Duke's heir apparent.
*Lady Viola Georgina Grosvenor (b. October 12, 1992)

aint-Ouen flea market

The duke's company, Grosvenor Continental Europe, bought the up-market Serpette and Paul-Bert sections of the 120-year-old Saint-Ouen market, just north of the 18th arrondissement in Paris, in 2005.

Antiques dealers at the Saint-Ouen flea market, which attracts millions of visitors every year, launched an Asterix-style protest in October, 2007 at the duke's attempt's to impose "exorbitant" rent rises. Traders accused the duke of wanting to transform the traditional flea-market into a luxury market like the Louvre des Antiquaires, an expensive antiques arcade in central Paris. The combined rental value of the 420 pitches at the flea market amounts to almost €4 million. [The Daily Telegraph, 6.10. 2007 [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/06/wflea106.xml Paris revolts against Duke of Westminster] ]

Controversy

On 11 February 2007, the tabloid "News of the World" alleged the Duke had hired four prostitutes in six weeks to visit him at his mews house in the West End of London and that during one of the encounters he claimed to know the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.

The Duke was also alleged to have been a client of the United States-based Emperors Club VIP, a high class prostitution ring which led to the resignation of New York governor Eliot Spitzer. On 12 March 2008, the "Daily Mail" reported that the Duke was a patron of the escort agency as "Client No. 6" at the heart of Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. [ [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=530296&in_page_id=1811&ct=5 "Disgraced New York governor forced to quit after spending $80,000 on call girls over six years"] "Daily Mail". 12 March 2008. (17:40 GMT). Accessed 12 March 2008.] His lawyers denied the allegations, claiming he was not in London on the dates in the report. [cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/12/duke-of-westminster-pros_n_91218.html|title=Duke Of Westminster: Prostitution Client, Allegedly, Of Emperors Club VIP|publisher=www.huffingtonpost.com|accessdate=2008-03-17] [cite web|url=http://gawker.com/367418/richest-man-in-britain-threatens-every-paper-in-the-nation|title=England's Dreaming: Richest Man in Britain Threatens Every Paper in the Nation|publisher=gawker.com|accessdate=2008-03-17]

Titles and honours

Honours

*Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) (2008)
*Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (2003)
*Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division)(1995)
*Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem (Knight Grand Cross) and (Grand Prior) of England
*Territorial Decoration (1994)
*Deputy Lieutenant (Cheshire) (1982)
*Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem (1991)

Honorary military appointments

*Honorary Colonel The Queen's Own Yeomanry
*Honorary Colonel 7th Regt. Army Air Corps
*Honorary Colonel-in-Chief Royal Westminster Regiment
*Honorary Colonel Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps
*Honorary Colonel Northumbria Universities Officer Training Corps

ee also

*List of billionaires

References

External links

* [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,20590,00.html Sunday Times Rich List 2006]
* [http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=FQCO&datatype=Person Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People]
* [http://www.ies-uk.org.uk/ Institution of Environmental Sciences]
* [http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/nerve10/grand_old_duke.php/ Profile in Liverpool's 'Nerve' magazine]
* [http://www.ukdukes.co.uk/the_dukes/the_duke_of_westminster/6th_duke_of_westminster/ 6th Duke of Westminster]
*http://publish.indymedia.org/en/2008/04/905423.shtml
*http://publish.indymedia.org/en/2007/12/897755.shtml