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A file picture taken on June 16, 2003, shows Britain's Duke of Westminster Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor arriving at St George's Chapel in Windsor, west of London.(Photo: TOBY MELVILLE, AFP/Getty Images)
LONDON — The sixth Duke of Westminster, one of Britain's wealthiest men and a friend of the royal family, has died at the age of 64.
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, whose family owns<span style="color: Red;">*</span>land and real estate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>around the world, including in two<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of London's most affluent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>neighborhoods, passed away in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a hospital in Preston,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>northwestern England, on Tuesday after suddenly falling<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ill at his nearby<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Abbeystead Estate, his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Grosvenor Estate said.
"His family are all aware and they ask for privacy and understanding at this very difficult time," the estate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said in a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>statement on its website.
The duke was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the 114th richest<span style="color: Red;">*</span>person in the world at the time of his death, according to Forbes, which estimated his wealth at $11 billion.
His 25-year-old son<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hugh Grosvenor, one of Prince George's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>godfathers, becomes the 7th Duke of Westminster and inherits the estate.
The family traces its<span style="color: Red;">*</span>history back<span style="color: Red;">*</span>almost 1,000 years.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Its property business began<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in 1677 when the duke's ancestor,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sir Thomas Grosvenor, married an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>heiress, Mary Davies, and acquired<span style="color: Red;">*</span>500 acres of swamp, pasture and orchards in London, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Grosvenor Estate said.
It said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>300 acres of that land<span style="color: Red;">*</span>are still owned by the family, in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mayfair and Belgravia, near Buckingham Palace.
The duke, who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>inherited the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>title<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>family business<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in 1979 when<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his father died, revealed in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>2000<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a nervous breakdown and became depressed two years earlier, amid<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the pressures of running the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>business<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and making hundreds<span style="color: Red;">*</span>public appearances a year, the BBC reported.
“Given the choice, I would rather not have been born wealthy, but I never think of giving it up,” he told The Independent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in 1992.
After the death of his father, 25-year-old Hugh Grosvenor is now one of Britain's richest man.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: John Stillwell, AP)
The duke's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Westminster Foundation supports<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a number of charities in areas where his estate has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an interest. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also<span style="color: Red;">*</span>served as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the first aid charity<span style="color: Red;">*</span>St. John Ambulance for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>years.
Buckingham Palace said that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip were sending a message of condolence to the duke’s family.
Prince Charles’ office said he and his wife Camilla were “deeply shocked and greatly saddened” by his death.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The duke is survived by his wife Natalia, his son and three daughters.
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