The Duke of Westminster is now a married man after tying the knot with his bride Olivia Henson in a ceremony at Chester Cathedral in front of guests including Prince William – and here we take a look inside the grand nuptials

The Duke of Westminster has finally married his bride Olivia Henson in a lavish ceremony where Prince William was an usher.

Thousands lined the streets of Chester to see the billionaire duke on his wedding day and gleefully cheered as the newlyweds shared a sweet kiss outside the city’s beautiful cathedral.

Sharing pictures from the big day, the couple issued a statement. Thanking those who made their wedding day “so memorable”, the couple said they were “incredibly touched by everyone’s amazing support and warm wishes”. They said: “We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us yesterday and want to extend a special thank you to those in Chester who helped make our day so memorable. We have been incredibly touched by everyone’s amazing support and warm wishes.”

The nuptials have been dubbed the wedding of the year and attracted a 400-strong congregation, which also included Princess Eugenie. Here we take a look at the dazzling ceremony and round up the details you may have missed…

Dream venue

The duke, Hugh Grosvenor, married Olivia at Chester Cathedral, which is close to his family’s ancestral seat of Eaton Hall in Cheshire. Both the bride and groom entered the grand church through the front doors, which had been adorned with a spectacular arch of flowers and foliage.

The Duke and new Duchess of Westminster ( 
Image:
Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The venue was certainly big enough to hold all 400 guests and thousands lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the hotly talked about couple and their guests. According to a spokesman for the couple, the cathedral holds a special place in their hearts and was perfect for their nuptials.

He explained before 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.”

Seasonal flowers for the ceremony were sourced from local growers, sourced from local growers through the ‘Flowers from the Farm’ network, which champions artisan growers. They will be made into bouquets to be delivered to local charities, churches and organisations.

William ‘priority’

Of all the guests in attendance at the wedding, the most high-profile was Prince William, who was one of 10 ushers. However, despite the wealthy groom being close to Prince Harry too, he did not attend and instead stayed thousands of miles away in California. Hugh and Harry came to the “civilised understanding” for him to skip the wedding amid his deep rift with his brother, seemingly paving the way for William’s attendance – and for him to take up his role as an usher at the ceremony.

Prince William at the wedding of Hugh and Olivia ( 
Image:
Samir Hussein/WireImage)
According to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, it was always going to be Harry who would have to concede his invitation. She told the Mirror: “There was never any question as to which of the brothers would take centre stage at the wedding. It had to be William. Harry made it clear he wouldn’t be attending having had a chat with Hugh about the awkward situation and agreeing he should be the one to step down.”

Meghan ‘swerve’

Meanwhile, Ingrid added Meghan Markle might also have been a factor in her and Harry’s non-attendance. She added: “There was also the question of Meghan being unwilling to attend such a high-profile society wedding knowing that most of that very society disliked her. Why would she want to come to a country where she could be pilloried, snubbed and embarrassed?

“Hers and Harry’s presence would certainly have distracted from the bride and groom and even Meghan would know that would be the height of bad manners. Harry issued an unofficial memo saying, ‘The Duke of Sussex sends his love and support and admiration for the couple for their wedding day.'”

Special cars

When it came to the actual nuptials, Hugh made a grand arrival at the event alongside his three best men. He proudly turned up in a green Land Rover Defender, a vehicle often favoured by farmers and estate owners.

The Duke arrived for the wedding in a Land Rover Defender ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
It comes as the Duke looks set to settle down to the ‘farming life of a country gentleman’ following his wedding with Olivia. Friends told the Telegraph that the 33-year-old, who studied countryside management at university, has “a genuine love of the land” – entirely fitting given his position as one of the UK’s largest landowners.

Notably, Hugh is also the president of the Country Trust charity, which encourages children from disadvantaged backgrounds to connect with “the land that sustains us all” through visits to farms across the country, including his own Grosvenor Farms on the Eaton Estate. The bride also had a very special form of transport to the wedding. She arrived with her father in a Bentley, originally made for the car manufacturer’s founder in 1930 – and the newlyweds left together after the ceremony in the car.

Incredible veil detail

Of course, when Olivia arrived, all eyes were on her stunning wedding dress and veil, which was created by London-based designer Emma Victoria Payne.

The bride’s veil had intricate detailing ( 
Image:
Getty Images)DON’T MISS
And it featured an incredible embroidery design, which incorporated floral motifs and edgings from her great-great-grandmother’s veil from around 1880. As she entered the cathedral, the veil blew in the wind, prompting gasps from the crowd as it fluttered dramatically. Her bouquet was made of flowers picked from the gardens of the duke’s family home, Eaton Hall.

Tiara heirloom

To complete the bridal look, Olivia opted to wear the Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara made for Grosvenor brides to wear on their wedding day, which has been in the family since 1906. According to royal jewellery expert, the Court Jeweller, the tiara is designed to look as if it is a wreath of leaves of laurel or myrtle, which is a traditional wedding flower. The same tiara was worn by the Duke of Westminster’s sister Lady Tamara Grosvenor when she married her husband Edward van Cutsem at the same venue in 2004.

Something blue

And even though the bride’s dress, veil and tiara were all within wedding tradition, she appeared to go against the norm with her shoes.

The bride’s unusual shoes ( 
Image:
UK Press via Getty Images)
She wore a pair of blue Silvia Lago shoes adorned with bows under her gown. The shoes are the Valentina 100 Riviera style and came with a chunky block heel.

Private reception

After the cathedral ceremony, the wedding party boarded coaches to be taken back to the groom’s home of Eaton Hall, where there were to celebrations – an afternoon reception with a lemon wedding cake and an evening party. And it seems the couple were keen to keep their celebration under wraps with one guest telling the Daily Mail: “We have also been asked not to do any social media posting when we get there.”