Lieutenant-Colonel Robert George Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, (24 April 1910 – 19 February 1979), was a British soldier, landowner, businessman and politician. In the 1970s he was the richest man in Britain.

Background and early life

Grosvenor was born Mr. Robert Grosvenor, younger son of Lord Hugh Grosvenor, himself the sixth son and tenth child of the 1st Duke of Westminster by his second wife, the Hon. Katherine Cavendish, daughter of the 2nd Baron Chesham. Grosvenor's mother, Lady Mabel Crichton, was the daughter of the 4th Earl of Erne. Grosvenor was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, an all-boys

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. He was a member of the school's contingent of the junior division of the Officer Training Corps. He reached the rank of cadet

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

Military career

On 28 June 1938, Grosvenor was commissioned into the 11th (City of London Yeomanry) Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade, a newly formed Territorial Army unit of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, as a second lieutenant. He ended

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a war substantive

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. On 1 May 1947, he transferred to the reformed City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) and was promoted from his pre-war

substantive rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military lines, such as youth groups, chivalric orders, religious orders, ...

of second lieutenant to major with seniority from 24 April 1944. His

service number A service number or roll number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they also may be used in civilian organizations. National identificati ...

was 76151. He transferred to the North Irish Horse on 1 May 1949. On 11 November 1949, he was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

(TD) for long service with the Territorial Army. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 15 February 1953. He was awarded a clasp to his Efficiency Decoration on 26 October 1954. On 14 February 1956, he moved from the Active List to the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers. He resigned his commission on 15 April 1960 and was permitted to retain the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Political career

Grosvenor lived in Northern Ireland most of his life at Ely Lodge, Blaney, on an island in the middle of

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...

. In 1952 he was appointed High Sheriff of Fermanagh. In the 1955 general election, he was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as member for Fermanagh & South Tyrone. Re-elected in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, he retired in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, he was succeeded by his cousin, the Marquess of Hamilton. In Parliament he stuck mainly to constituency issues, but was responsible for a bill to help increase adoptions, which became the Adoption Act 1964. He was described in his successor's maiden speech as popular and well-liked.

Peerage

At birth, as a son of the younger son of a peer, Grosvenor was entitled to no title or courtesy title at all. In 1963, his cousin, the 3rd Duke of Westminster, died and Grosvenor's elder brother Gerald became the 4th Duke. At this point, since he was likely to succeed his brother in the peerage, a

Royal Warrant of Precedence A royal warrant of precedence is a warrant issued by the monarch of the United Kingdom to determine precedence amongst individuals or organisations. Most warrants of this type are issued to grant a rank to a member of the nobility or gentry th ...

was issued to allow Grosvenor to adopt the style of Lord Robert Grosvenor. Upon his brother's death in 1967, Robert duly became 5th Duke of Westminster. Although he took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, he never spoke, something surprising in view of his political career. Westminster (as he was now known) was appointed honorary colonel of the North Irish Horse in 1971.

Personal life

On 3 December 1946, he married his second cousin, Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton, a daughter of the 9th Viscount Cobham. They had three children: * Lady Leonora Mary Grosvenor (b. 1 February 1949). She married

Thomas Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (25 April 1939 – 11 November 2005), was an English photographer from the Anson family. He inherited the Earldom of Lichfield in 1960 from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practice ...

on 8 March 1975 and they were divorced in 1986. They have three children and two grandsons. * Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (22 December 1951 – 9 August 2016). He married Natalia Phillips on 7 October 1978. They had four children and six grandchildren. * Lady Jane Meriel Grosvenor (b. 8 February 1953). She married Guy David Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe on 10 September 1977 and they were divorced in 1990. They have three children and seven grandchildren. Lady Jane was presented to high society as a debutante at the prestigious

International Debutante Ball The International Debutante Ball is an invitation-only, Formal wear, formal Debutante, debutante ball, to officially present well-connected young women from Upper class, upper-class families to high society. Founded in 1954, it occurs every two ...

at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City in 1971.

Death and legacy

Westminster died on 19 February 1979 at Ely Lodge, near

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

in Northern Ireland. He was buried in the churchyard of Eccleston Church near

Eaton Hall, Cheshire Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is south of the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, Eccleston in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate cove ...

. The Duke had ten grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. He is memorialized at St Mary's Church, Eccleston.

References

External links

*
5th Duke of Westminster
ukdukes.co.uk. Accessed 28 December 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Westminster, Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of 1910 births 1979 deaths Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II People from Cheshire 5 Lord-lieutenants of Fermanagh Grosvenor, Lord Robert Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster Grosvenor, Robert Grosvenor, Robert Ulster Unionist Party MPs High sheriffs of County Fermanagh Grosvenor, Lord Robert Grosvenor, Lord Robert Westminster, D5 North Irish Horse officers City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) officers People educated at Eton College Northern Ireland justices of the peace Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party hereditary peers