The Duke of Westminster KG CB OBE TD CD DL is Chairman of the Grosvenor Estate. He married Natalia Phillips in 1978 and they have one son and three daughters.
In May 2003, the Duke was appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest British Order of Chivalry. In 2008, he was appointed to the Order of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. He is also a Knight of the Order of St John.
The Duke holds the rank of Major General in the Reserve Forces and was the first Reservist officer to be promoted to this rank since before WWII. He commanded the Queen’s Own Yeomanry 1992-1995 and then, after various staff appointments, he was promoted to Major General in 2003 and served as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff for Reserves and Cadets in the Ministry of Defence until 2007. In May 2011, he was appointed to the post of Deputy Commander Army Reserves, which then became the post he now holds, that of Deputy Commander Land Forces.
Other appointments have included Honorary Colonel of the Northumbrian Universities Officers’ Training Corps (1995-2003), the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry (2001-2008), 7 Regiment Army Air Corps (1993-2009) and the Queen’s Own Yeomanry (from 2008); Colonel Yeomanry (2003-2011) and Deputy Colonel Commandant of the Army Air Corps (from 2009). He is also Colonel in Chief of the Royal Westminster Regiment in Canada. The Duke was appointed a member of the War Graves Commission in 2011.
The Duke was a member of The Princes Council of the Duchy of Cornwall (2001-2011), Chancellor of the University of Keele (1986-1993), Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University (1992-2002) and is presently Chancellor of the University of Chester(since 2005). He has been Chairman of the Nuffield Trust for the Armed Forces since 1992, is a Trustee of the Yeomanry Benevolent Fund and was a Trustee of the National Army Museum (1988-1997).
The Duke supports charities personally, by patronage. His charitable trust, the Westminster Foundation supports many UK registered charities and its military programme includes donations to Combat Stress, the Army Benevolent Fund, the Imperial War Museum, the Royal British Legion and the Not Forgotten Association.
The Duke is a countryman and enjoys country sports. He takes an interest in rural issues through organisations such as the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. and the Atlantic Salmon Trust.