Family property
In previous centuries, the art of making the right marriage often determined the prosperity of aristocratic dynasties. In the case of the Grosvenor family, whose head bears the title Duke of Westminster, a well-chosen bride has been effective to this day. The undeveloped land that came to the Grosvenor estates through a 17th-century heiress is now one of the poshest parts of London: Mayfair, Belgravia and Pimlico. The family has kept hold of this prime land, which makes the seventh Duke of Westminster, born in 1991, the richest man of his class.
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Address Belgrave Square, SW1X 8PZ | Public Transport Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly Line) | Tip In Belgrave Mews behind the German embassy, The Star Tavern serves excellent Fullers beer and pub food (daily noon–3pm, 5–9pm) at prices that normal people can afford.
A centrepiece of this property portfolio is Belgrave Square. At the north-east corner of the square is a memorial to Robert Grosvenor, under whom the neoclassical rows with their columned entrances and white stucco façades were built in the years up to 1840 on marshy terrain that had been a haunt of highwaymen. The duke’s architect, George Basevi, designed a row of eleven or twelve imposing houses on each side of the square. In the corners between these terraces he placed palatial detached houses, and the space in the middle was laid out as a garden. Once the home of the aristocracy and the rich, Belgrave Square now serves mainly as a prestigious address for the embassies of Germany, Portugal, Serbia, Bahrain, Norway and Syria. The Duke of Westminster himself has his town house nearby in Eaton Square, which is named after the family’s country seat in Cheshire. His London neighbours include Roman Abramovich and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Fenced in and screened by shrubs from the prying eyes of passersby, the gardens in the middle of Belgrave Square are a private space. Once a year, however, during the Open Garden Squares Weekend in June, everyone has an opportunity to stroll where otherwise only the privileged residents are admitted. To gain possession of a key to the gate, you need more than a few million pounds.
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