Hugh Grosvenor married Olivia Henson back in June. They are now the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, with an inherited fortune in excess of $12 billion, mostly in real estate. Hugh and Olivia married at Chester Cathedral, not far from his family’s estate, Eaton Hall. Eaton Hall was where the Grosvenors hosted the wedding reception, and I’m just now realizing that we still haven’t seen any photos from the reception. We only got these photos of Hugh, Olivia and their guests posing outside Chester Cathedral. They really rolled out the plywood for their big day. Well, the point is that the wedding service was held at a church and that the public came out to celebrate as well, so of course the local police were there for crowd-control and to ensure that the guests were all safe (guests including Prince William). The fact that taxpayers have subsidized a billionaire’s wedding security-costs has not gone over well though.
The lavish wedding of one of Britain’s richest men the Duke of Westminster has been slammed after it emerged that taxpayers will have to pay the cost of policing it. Prince William was usher and Princess Eugenie was in attendance when Hugh Grosvenor – whose fortune is estimated at £10billion – tied the knot with Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral in the society wedding of the year. But despite the duke’s vast wealth, Cheshire police say they won’t ask him for a contribution towards security for the event – and will make local council taxpayers foot the bill.
The move was slammed by Evan Morris, chair of the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel, who fumed: ‘We’re looking at very, very substantial costs for policing that wedding. It took nine months to plan and Cheshire police haven’t managed to put a price on the cost.’
The move was also blasted by the Taxpayers’ Alliance who called on the duke to put his hand in his pocket. Spokesman William Yarwood said: ‘Taxpayers will feel let down by the duke’s stinginess. The cost of policing this event was huge and for ordinary Brits to foot the whole bill feels deeply unfair. A contribution to these costs would be a noble act of patriotism from the Duke.’
Details of the costs emerged at a meeting of Cheshire’s Police and Crime Panel. The force said they considered the wedding a public event, comparing it to a football match as their main role involved policing crowds outside the Cathedral. The force also admitted that it had no idea of the overall cost of the policing operation. In a written response to a question on the figures involved, the force said: ‘There has been no formal approach to the Duke of Westminster regarding contributions made, following legal advice concerning NPCC (National Police Chiefs’ Council) Guidance for Special Policing Services. The central principle is that the police cannot charge for services which fall within their ordinary public duty.’
I don’t really care one way or the other, mostly because I can see both sides – Hugh and Olivia wanted to highlight the Chester community and have their wedding at the local church, and of course the local police force would be criticized if they weren’t part of the proceedings and something happened. That being said, I do sort of wonder why Hugh and Olivia didn’t offer to cover some or all costs ahead of time. Wouldn’t that be similar to Prince Harry’s issue though? He’s suing the police because he wants their protection AND he wants to be able to pay back the costs incurred. The police have said no to protecting him and no to covering the costs.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.