England’s Social Event of the Year: The Duke of Westminster’s Wedding
The society wedding of the year — as it was called by British tabloids — went off without a hitch on Friday at noon. Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster and one of the richest people in the United Kingdom, married Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral, a centuries-old Gothic church in England.
Despite the rapid winds, hundreds of observers and even a few protesters gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the duke, 33, the new duchess, 31, and William, Prince of Wales, a close friend of the groom and an usher at the wedding. (He attended without Catherine, Princess of Wales, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.)
The Very Rev. Dr. Tim Stratford, the Dean of Chester, led and officiated the Anglican service. Ms. Henson arrived in a vintage 1930 Bentley with her father, Rupert Henson, wearing a floor-length silk crepe satin dress with a six-and-a-half-foot detachable train and an embroidered veil inspired by one that Ms. Henson’s great-great-grandmother wore in the 1880s. The look was designed by Emma Victoria Payne, who is based in London. A hefty dose of sparkle was added with the Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara, which various Grosvenor women have worn since its creation in 1906.
Birch trees lined the inside of the cathedral, and flower decorations included roses and campanula. Many of the flowers will be repurposed as bouquets for local charities and other organizations.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds shared their first public kiss as a married couple before around 400 guests celebrated their union at the nearby Eaton Hall, which has been the home of the duke’s family since the 1400s. Eaton Hall sits on an 11,000-acre estate in Cheshire County, a four-hour drive northwest of London.
