Who Is Prince George's Godfather, The Duke Of Westminster?

In many Christian traditions that include the practice of infant baptism, the role of a godparent is to serve as a mentor and guide for a child as they grow and begin their faith journey. Over time, the title of godparent expanded beyond a religious context and is often used to distinguish a special bond between a child and a trusted adult who has agreed to take a particular interest in their health, wellness, and happiness. 

While most parents who adhere to variations of this tradition typically ask two individuals to serve as their child's godparents, the British royal family has their own way of going about this matter. Queen Elizabeth II was given seven godparents, King Charles III was christened with eight, while both Prince William and Prince Harry have half a dozen godparents each. The same rule applies to the next generation of royals. Prince William's firstborn, Prince George, has seven godparents, one of whom is one of the richest men in the United Kingdom: Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster.

Grosvenor's status as one of Prince George's godparents is unsurprising, given his impressive title and long-standing relationship with the royal family, but a closer look at the young duke's life shows that he is more than just a rich aristocrat. Grosvenor is known by people of all ranks as an unassuming, grounded, and charitable person with a steady work ethic and aspirations to do good for his community. 

Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, and his wife, Natalia Grosvenor, actively took steps to show all of their children that their wealth was best used to improve the lives of the people around them. In an interview with Lux, Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Hugh Grosvenor's older sister, recalled the impact of her parent's teaching methods about philanthropy. "I was about 12 when my mother and father decided to take me and my older sister to a drug-rehabilitation centre on Hope Street in Liverpool to meet two heroin addicts, to understand about drugs and addiction," Edwina remembered. "Years later, I realised I had money to give and there was a big internal wrestle with what that meant, what I was going to do with it, how I was going to do it, what would be the appropriate way."

The duke and his wife sought to keep their children grounded by selecting which educational institutions they would attend with care. "His mum, Tally ... was keen on the children having a more normal upbringing," a relative told The Telegraph in 2023. "So almost consciously didn't want them to go to all those Eton, Harrow sort of places and risk turning into that arrogant, entitled type of person." As a result, Hugh's parents enrolled him at Mostyn House, a local public primary school, for the first years of his education. He later attended high school at Ellesmere College in Shropshire.

Since infancy, Prince William has been closely affiliated with the Grosvenors. Hugh Grosvenor's mother, Natalia Grosvenor, is one of Prince William's godparents, and in later years, King Charles III asked Hugh's father, Gerald Grosvenor, to mentor young Prince William. Aside from Prince William's relationship with the older Grovsvenors, the boys became close friends. Prince Harry attended Hugh's 21st birthday party at Eaton Hall in 2012, and both Prince William and Prince Harry have been guests at Grosvenor's hunting estate in Spain.

Since Hugh Grosvenor is a friend to both the feuding princes, he has been faced with some uncomfortable circumstances that come with being stuck between two arguing brothers. This issue comes to a head in the case of special occasions where, in a perfect world, both Prince William and Prince Harry could attend without causing issues. A friend of Hugh, Prince William, and Prince Harry spoke on this issue, telling The Times, "It's incredibly sad it has come to this. Hugh is one of very few close friends of William and Harry's who has maintained strong bonds and a line of communication with both. He wishes they could put their heads together and patch things up."

After his father's death, Hugh Grosvenor assumed the role of Chair of the Trustees for the Grosvenor Group. According to the group's website, "Trustees are responsible for Grosvenor's commercial and Family Office & Rural Estates activities, including matters relating to purpose, values, long-term strategy and, ultimately, success. They act as legal owners of a series of U.K. resident trusts, the beneficiaries of which are both current and future members of the Grosvenor family." As the chairman of the Group, Hugh Grosvenor has a hand in all facets of his family's assets and the proceedings of the Grosvenor Group as a whole.

Though the Grosvenor fortune is huge, the Duke of Westminster doesn't just use his money to fund his own lavish lifestyle. His parents instilled in him a sense of duty and responsibility to use the family's wealth to benefit others, and Hugh has taken that lesson in philanthropy to heart. Grosvenor serves as the head of the Westminster Foundation, a charitable entity that partners with local organizations to provide sustainable support to improve the health, wellness, and education of young people by funding community programs, schools, and youth hubs. Hugh also donated large sums of money to the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, which supports the rehabilitation and recovery of wounded members of the Armed Forces. Grosvenor also donated £10 million to Great Britain's COVID-19 relief effort.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a reputation for breaking away from the traditions of the royal family. Around the time of Prince Archie's christening in 2019, the duke and duchess decided not to announce publicly who their son's godparents would be; however, it was later revealed that one of their selections was Hugh Grosvenor. Given Grosvenor's longstanding friendship with both Prince Harry and his older brother, Prince William, he accepted the role of Prince Archie's godfather just as he had accepted being that of Prince Archie's older cousin, Prince George.

Being a godparent to each of the royal brothers has proved to be an awkward position for Grosvenor as he strives for neutrality amidst the rift between Prince William and Prince Harry. A notable moment of turmoil occurred when Grosvenor and his fiancée, Olivia Henson, were deciding on the guest list for their wedding. Rumors circulated that Grosvenor and Henson intentionally did not send a save the date for their wedding to the Sussexes as an intentional snub, but according to Page Six, Grosvenor and Henson did, in fact, extend the invitation to the duke and duchess. Due to what would undoubtedly be an awkward clash, Prince Harry elected to call Grosvenor to explain the circumstances and politely decline the offer to attend.

Hugh Grosvenor has earned himself a reputation as a humble and respectable individual despite his dazzling wealth and status. From childhood, his parents took care to ensure Hugh and his sisters remained grounded and aware of their great privilege. During a 1992 interview with the Independent, his father, Gerald Grosvenor said of his son, "He's a lucky boy to be given all the material things in life, but he'll need to be robust mentally to survive. There are many pitfalls, when one inherits such an enormous amount of money, especially in adolescence. ... He's been born with the longest silver spoon anyone can have, but he can't go through life sucking on it." 

Hugh Grosvenor managed to make it through his university years without causing scandals or disruptions, and the public has commended him for being down-to-earth. A relative of Hugh complimented his character in a comment to The Telegraph in 2023, saying, "Hugh is a stable pair of hands ... He's not some Hooray Henry who likes getting hooned and going to 5 Hertford Street. He even has a slight Midlands lilt." 

The 7th Duke of Westminster is revered as a steadfast character not only by people of similar rank but also by the tenants living and farming on his family's land. One dairy farmer, Tom Brammall, said of Hugh, "Whenever I've met him, he's been a really unassuming, level-headed, very nice guy. "