The Duke of Westminster, Hugh “Hughie” Grosvenor, has long been considered one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors. With a $19 billion dollar fortune, the 33-year-old is the richest person under the age of 40 in the UK.
He also happens to be very close friends with Prince William and Prince Harry.
It’s the Duke’s friendship with the duelling brothers that is causing a bit of a headache for the groom ahead of his nuptials this week, which have been described by British media outlets as ‘the royal wedding of the year’.
On June 7, Hughie is getting married to Olivia Henson. There’s a 400-strong guest list, a Cathedral service and a fancy reception at his 11,000-acre estate, Eaton Hall. The venues are expected to be decorated with 100,000 flowers.
Originally, Prince Harry was invited to attend the wedding. But apparently, an agreement has been reached, with both parties acknowledging it would be better if he didn’t.
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According to The Times UK, Hughie is “one of only a few friends who has remained close to both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex despite the brothers’ increasingly bitter public feud”.
“Harry was invited but then agreed to stay away,” the publication reported.
“The Duke’s diplomacy then cleared the way for William to perform the role of usher during Friday’s ceremony — a job that would have been beyond awkward if he was obliged to show Harry to his pew.”
Princess Catherine will not be attending, while she continues to undergo cancer treatment, and the King is not expected to attend either.
“It is fast becoming the most royal non-royal wedding of the year,” said The Times.
Now what’s Hughie’s connection to the royals you might be asking? Well, he’s the godson of King Charles, godfather to Prince George and via his mum’s side, the Duke has royal lineage to Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and the House of Romanov.
It’s also been widely reported, though never confirmed, that Hughie is also a godfather to Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie, who is now four.
The feud between Harry and William shows no signs of slowing down.
Despite Harry throwing a Service of Thanksgiving at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral to honour 10 years of the Invictus Games last month, not one member of the royal family was there.
It’s a big change from 2014 when Charles, Camilla and William were all in attendance to launch the first Invictus Games.
During Meghan and Harry’s recent Nigerian tour to promote the Games, there were reportedly rumblings of frustrations from the royal family.
“William is absolutely furious and determined to find a way to stop this happening in future. Charles is said to be angrier than anyone has ever seen him,” royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror.
“What’s really upset the applecart is the fact that the Nigerians treated Meghan and Harry as if they too thought this was an official tour — all the signs were there as the couple were greeted with dances, receptions, visits to schools and charities.”
Would a society wedding have been the perfect opportunity to reunite the brothers? Sadly, likely not.
Feature Image: Getty/Canva.