The Duke of Westminster, Hugh Richard Grosvenor or Bendor (1878-1953), in 1903
Bendor, the Carlton's most glamorous guest in the 1920s and 1930s
In 1899, at the age of 21, Bendor, the 2nd Duke of Westminster, inherited from his grandfather, the 1st Duke of Westminster, Hugh Lupus Grosvenor (1825-1899), the largest fortune in the United Kingdom (far exceeding that of the King), probably the largest fortune in Europe and perhaps one of the largest fortunes in the world.
This was not an industrial empire, more exposed to technological change, but something very, very stable: property, more precisely two districts in the heart of London, Mayfair and Belgravia, as well as immense estates in the north of Scotland, a great deal of other land, and thousands of works of art.
So the Duke had little need to worry about how to pay his telephone bill at the end of the month (it must have been quite substantial, for at the time the telephone, invented by Alexander Bell in 1876, was still very expensive, especially for long-distance calls). Bendor had decided not to venture into risky business. It was enough for him to collect his rents and enjoy life to the full ....
Since England never had a revolution and the heart of London has always remained the heart of London, his way of life never changed ...
One of his great passions was to lavish sumptuous gifts, without counting the cost, on the most beautiful women he wished to conquer ... Marilyn Monroe, who always said that “Diamonds are a girl's best friend”, would probably have had a heart attack ... but she had not yet been born. Then again, she could have met him at the end of his life.
But even the most extravagant jewels could not ruin him, so immense was his income: thousands upon thousands of pounds sterling every second. In 1925 he met Coco Chanel ...
Life on the French Riviera was part of this “dolce vita”, the French Riviera with its magical hotels ...
Grand Duke Michael of Russia was, until 1917, one of the crowned kings of the French Riviera and a friend of Bendor ....
La Belle Otero turns the heads of all the rich and famous men; she tried to attract Bendor, but without much success ...
Coco Chanel was Bendor's great passion. Unlike the wealthiest men of today, who are sometimes ugly, sometimes too short, but above all, worst of all ... often stingy, Bendor was the opposite.
Coco Chanel with a friend aboard the Flying Cloud.
The Duke of Westminster on his last visit to the Carlton in 1952.