The Wedding of The Duke of Westminster and Miss Olivia Henson

The Duke of Westminster and Miss Olivia Henson will marry at Chester Cathedral at 12pm today, Friday 7th June.

The Dean of Chester, the Very Revd Dr Tim Stratford, will lead and officiate the wedding service. The Bishop of Chester, the Right Revd Mark Tanner, will preach, while the Revd Canon Rosie Woodall will lead the prayers.

The service will be sung by the Chester Cathedral Choir, conducted by Philip Rushforth, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Chester Cathedral. They will be accompanied by a group of musicians from North West England. 

All the flowers for the wedding service are 100% British, with the Duke and Miss Henson choosing seasonal flowers sourced from local growers through the ‘Flowers from the Farm’ network, which champions artisan growers. Much of the foliage for the wedding has also been selected from the grounds of Grosvenor’s Eaton Estate. Designed by floral studio Flower & Press, the flowers include rambling roses, philadelphus, campanula and orlaya grandiflora, while birch trees will line the inside of the Cathedral. After the wedding, the flowers will be repurposed, with all possible flowers made into bouquets and delivered to local charities, churches and organisations, including those with whom the Grosvenor family have a close association. The birch trees will be relocated to the Eaton Estate.

Ahead of the service, Miss Henson will travel to the Cathedral with her father, Mr. Rupert Henson in a vintage Bentley, provided by the Heritage Collection of Bentley Motors in Crewe. The car was originally made for W.O. Bentley, the founder of Bentley Motors, in 1930.

After the ceremony, the Duke and Duchess of Westminster will travel back to Eaton Estate, where they will host a private wedding reception for guests. Eaton is situated just outside Chester City Centre and has been home to the Grosvenor family since the 1400s.

Speaking ahead of the wedding, a spokesperson for the Duke and Miss Henson said:

“This is an incredibly special day for the Duke and Miss Henson and they are very much looking forward to the service. It means a lot to them to marry in Chester Cathedral, especially given the Grosvenor family’s long and close personal connection to both the Cathedral and the city of Chester. The couple have also been moved by the messages of support they have received from around the region and are hugely grateful that people want to share in their happiness.”

The spokesperson added:

“The Duke and Miss Henson have taken a great deal of care in planning the wedding, putting their own personal stamp on all the arrangements and have made a conscious effort to involve local and regional suppliers in several aspects of the day.”

Grosvenor Family links to Chester Cathedral:

• The oldest document in the Grosvenor Archives is a grant of land to the Abbey of St Werburgh (the site of Chester Cathedral) dated between 1135 and 1154.
• Lady Leonora Grosvenor (The Duke’s aunt) married Lord Lichfield, 5^th Earl of Lichfield at Chester Cathedral in 1985.
• Gerald Grosvenor, 6^th Duke of Westminster (The Duke’s father), gifted the ‘Westminster Window’ in the Cathedral, designed by Alan Younger to commemorate the 900^th anniversary of the Cathedral, in 1992.
• Lady Tamara Grosvenor (The Duke’s sister) married Edward van Cutsem at Chester Cathedral in 2004.
• A memorial service for Gerald Grosvenor, 6^th Duke of Westminster, was held at Chester Cathedral in 2016.