Chester, November 2016. A Memorial Service for the life of Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, KG, CB, CVO, OBE, TD CD, DL, (1951-2016) was held at Chester Cathedral on Monday 28 November 2016.
His Grace was invested into the Royal Order of Francis I as a Knight Grand Cross at a ceremony held at Westminster Cathedral in 2005 in recognition to his lifelong contribution to charitable endeavour in Britain.
The Memorial Service was attended by over two thousand people including TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, governmental officials and representatives of organisations associated with the late Duke.
The Delegate, Anthony Bailey, represented HRH Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro, and the Grand Prior, HE Cardinal Renato Rafaele Martino at the Memorial Service.
The first reading titled ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling, was read by the son of the late Duke, the 7th Duke of Westminster. Lady Edwina, the late Duke’s daughter, delivered a reading titled ‘A letter to my father’. HRH The Duke of Cambridge read the Garter Prayer during the service.
Tributes were paid by Jeremy Newsum, Executive Trustee at Grosvenor Estate, General Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman, Programme Director at The Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre and Andrew Hay. The Blessing was given by The Right Rev Dr Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester.
At the end of the service, a collection was received for the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC), an initiative of the late Duke to create a new rehabilitation center to treat the armed forces.