The Grosvenor Estate said the duke died at the Royal Preston Hospital in northwest England after suddenly becoming ill at his vast Abbeystead Estate nearby.
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“It was rather forced upon me”, he said.
The Grosvenor family traces its roots back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. He joked: “Make sure they have an ancestor who was a very close friend of William the Conqueror”.
The Grosvenor family accrued much of their London riches through the union of Sir Thomas Grosvenor to the heiress Mary Davies in 1677. Specifically, Hugh now owns not just Chesire’s Eaton Hall but also chunks of the very expensive London neighborhoods of Belgravia and Mayfair and additional swaths of the country, as well.
The family’s property portfolio includes land across Britain, as well as housing, office and retail space around the world.
Before the duke’s death, Green was in fifth place – but now he and his wife, Lady Tina Green, have moved up to fourth place on Forbe’s United Kingdom rich list, with an estimated fortune of £4.28bn.
Little is known about the new duke – whose previous title was Earl Grosvenor – but he made headlines in 2012 when a lavish 21st birthday party was thrown for him at the family seat of Eaton Hall in Eccleston, where he grew up.
He suffered a nervous breakdown and depression in 1998, saying the pressures of business and the great number of public appearances he was making overcame him.
A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police told the Press Association officers were called at around 5pm on Tuesday and made aware of the death of a 64-year-old man at Royal Preston Hospital.
“It’s part of my heritage”, he said. “If I’m lucky I might live on this earth for 70 years”. That estate has been with us for three, four, five, six hundred years. He told the Chester Chronicle at the time: “The party was simply incredible – a birthday and a party I will never forget”.
The duke’s aristocratic clan is closely tied to British royalty.
A spokesperson for the Grosvenor family announced the sad news of Gerald’s passing, saying: “His family are all aware and they ask for privacy and understanding at this very hard time”.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were “deeply shocked and greatly saddened” by the duke’s sudden death, a spokeswoman said, while Queen Elizabeth and her husband Philip will send a private message of condolence to the Grosvenor family.
The new seventh Duke of Westminster is only 25 years of age, a godfather to Prince George and now “owns half of London”.
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He is survived by his wife, Natalia Phillips, who he married in 1978 and their daughters, Lady Tamara, born in 1979, Lady Edwina in 1981 and Lady Viola in 1992.
