The Duke of Westminster, who died suddenly on Tuesday aged 64, had suffered a heart attack, Preston coroner’s office said. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, whose estate is estimated to be worth about £9bn, died after being transferred from his Abbeystead estate in Lancashire to the Royal Preston hospital.
A spokeswoman for Preston coroner’s office confirmed the cause of death was myocardial infarction, and that no inquest would be held since he had died from natural causes.
The father of four was a close friend of the royal family and said to be the third wealthiest landowner in the UK. The Grosvenor estate portfolio includes Mayfair and Belgravia, as well as thousands of acres in Scotland and Spain.
A tribute posted on the Grosvenor website on Thursday read: “He was a passionate country man, committed soldier, and excellent shot, a true entrepreneur, and, importantly, he went out of his way to be courteous and humorous with all people, regardless of status or wealth. Distinctly down to earth, the [duke] was rarely seen without a Diet Coke and a cigarette (later electric). Not much of a sleeper, one might expect emails from him at any hour of the night, and an average week would see him up and down from home in Chester to London and all over the world to visit soldiers, businesses, charities and rural estates while representing and promoting numerous organisations.”
The dukedom now passes to his only son, Hugh Grosvenor, 25, who through primogeniture has precedence over two older sisters, Lady Tamara and Lady Edwina. A third daughter, Lady Viola, is the youngest of the children.
