Charles and Camilla miss billionaire godson’s wedding after previous snub

The Duke of Westminster is getting married in a grand ceremony billed as the wedding of the year – but one very special guest is missing.

The Duke, whose real name is Hugh Grosvenor, counts King Charles as one of his godparents, but the monarch and his wife Queen Camilla have missed out on the nuptials between Hugh and his new wife Olivia.

In fact, despite being a close friend of the royals, the only member of the Firm who is in attendance is Prince William, who has been handed the role of usher. Charles, 75, is still undergoing cancer treatment and has had a busy few days, attending commemorations marking 80 years since D-Day in both Portsmouth and France on Wednesday and Thursday.

He is said to have been invited to the wedding but only arrived back in the country on Thursday after carrying out his duties. However, the King and Queen’s non-attendance has sparked memories of when Hugh’s sister Lady Tamara Grosvenor married Edward van Cutsem at the same venue in 2004.

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At that wedding, the late Queen was invited, as was the then Prince Charles and Camilla, although it was before the pair married. It was reported that Camilla’s invitation came with the stipulation she could not sit next to Charles or arrive with him, due to the late Queen and Prince Philip also attending.

This is said to have left Camilla furious and in the end neither she nor Charles attended, with the future King believed not to have been happy about how his now-wife was being treated. And a source told the Daily Mail: “Their Majesties have not forgotten what happened at the wedding of Hugh’s sister. There is still a lot of tension that exists.”

Also missing from the wedding today are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, despite Harry also being close to the Duke, who is godfather to Prince Archie. With Prince William and Harry embroiled in a bitter rift with relations said to be at rock bottom, the Sussexes appear to have decided to stay away from the nuptials to not let the feud overshadow his pal’s big day with William attending.

According to The Times, Harry was invited to Hugh’s wedding, but then over a phone call with the groom agreed to stay away in what is described as a “civilised understanding”. This move in turn cleared the way for William to perform his job as usher at the ceremony.

The Duke’s friendship with William and Harry stems from the fact King Charles was also a close friend of Hugh’s father, the previous Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor. Hugh became the 7th Duke of Westminster when his father sadly died from a heart attack at the age of 64 in 2016.

At the time of his succession, he inherited an estimated wealth of £9 billion and gained several new estates. He became the head of The Grosvenor Group, which means he owns several huge areas of London, as well as land and over 1,500 buildings all across the world. In London, the group owns Park Lane, half of Mayfair and 300 acres of Belgravia.

Last month, he topped The Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List, boasting a fortune of £10.1 billion. He also made rare remarks about his marriage as he visited Chester Cathedral – his wedding day venue. And he publicly spoke about those who have ‘supported’ him in the build-up to the big day.

“I think next time we’re in here will be slightly more nerve-wracking. But I’m unbelievably excited,” he told Town & Country. “I just wanted to make it very clear how unbelievably helpful people have been, how supportive they’ve been so far which I’m unbelievably grateful for.”

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