The Prince of Wales and his cousin Princess Eugenie have officially arrived in Chester to attend the most highly anticipated society wedding of the year.
William’s close friend, Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster and one of Britain’s richest men, 33, is set to wed his fiance, Olivia Henson, 31 within hours.
Grosvenor’s nuptials – considered the most important society event of the English summer – will take place on Friday afternoon local time at Chester Cathedral, with about 400 aristocrats in attendance.
On Friday morning, photographers managed to snap a few candid images of William and Eugenie walking into the historic cathedral after Prince Harry reportedly agreed to skip the event to avoid a run in with his estranged brother.
The Duke of Westminster is believed to own more land than King Charles and has an estimated net worth of about £9.42 billion (AUD17.9 billion).
Grosvenor inherited huge landholdings and a property investment business upon the sudden death of his father Gerald Grosvenor in 2016.
Mr Grosvenor is believed to be one of the few remaining friends the Sussexes and Wales’ have in common, with Hugh serving as a godfather to both William’s heir Prince George and Harry’s son Prince Archie.
However, the Sunday Times has confirmed Mr Grosvenor chose to invite William and Kate instead of Harry and Meghan to avoid “awkwardness” between the estranged brothers.
“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,” a friend of the pair told the newspaper in December after invites went out.
“(Hugh) wishes they could put their heads together and patch things up but realises it’s unlikely to happen before the wedding. He wanted to avoid anything overshadowing the day, especially for Olivia, and doesn’t want any awkwardness.”
The Duke of Westminster’s bride is a fellow aristocrat and was a school friend of Eugenie and her sister Princess Beatrice.
William’s appearance at the wedding comes amid renewed speculation his wife Princess Catherine could make a sudden return to royal duties without any public announcement once she completes cancer treatment.
Kate, 42, confirmed her cancer diagnosis in an emotional video message in March and revealed she had started “preventative chemotherapy”, which prompted a global outpouring of support for the Princess of Wales.
Royal biographer Angela Levin suspects Catherine’s eventual re-emergence could come without warning.
“I wonder how much warning we’ll have that she’s coming back,” Ms Levin told GBN America on Wednesday.
“I suspect there’s not much (warning) otherwise we’ll be marching up and down saying ‘we can’t wait’”.