Prince William is usher at wedding of aristocrat the Duke of Westminster

LONDON — LONDON (AP) — Prince William took a day trip from royal duties on Friday to function an usher on the wedding ceremony of his buddy Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, an occasion briefly disrupted by environmental protesters.

The marriage of 33-year-old Grosvenor, one in every of Britain’s wealthiest landowners, to his companion Olivia Henson, 31, is without doubt one of the high-society occasions of the yr in Britain.

William, 41, arrived together with his fellow ushers at Chester Cathedral in northwest England forward of the noon service. The venue is near the duke’s 10,000-acre (4,000-hectare) Eaton Corridor property, the place friends had been as a result of attend a personal wedding ceremony reception.

A whole lot of onlookers gathered outdoors the cathedral cheered the arrival of Grosvenor, wearing a morning swimsuit, and Henson, carrying a white wedding ceremony gown by British designer Emma Victoria Payne. Her lengthy veil, worn over a tiara, rippled within the wind.

Because the couple emerged from the cathedral to kiss in entrance of the ready crowd, two environmental protesters sprayed orange powder from a hearth extinguisher. They had been shortly led away by police.

Cheshire Police mentioned a 69-year-old lady and a 73-year-old lady had been arrested on suspicion of public order offenses. The group Simply Cease Oil mentioned the 2 had been its members, demanding an finish to fossil gasoline exraction.

Grosvenor is a godfather to 10-year-old Prince George, the eldest son of William and his spouse Kate.

Kate, who’s being handled for most cancers, didn’t attend the marriage. Neither did William’s estranged youthful brother Prince Harry, who lives in California together with his spouse Meghan and their two kids.

Grosvenor inherited his title on the age of 25 when his father died in 2016. His ancestor, Sir Thomas Grosvenor, married heiress Mary Davies and bought what was then marshland in 1677. Over the generations the household developed the land into two of London’s most prosperous neighborhoods, Mayfair and Belgravia.

The household’s Grosvenor Property owns 300 acres (121 hectares)of land in London, in addition to land throughout Britain and housing, workplace and retail area all over the world.

The 2024 Sunday Instances Wealthy Record estimated the duke’s wealth at simply over 10 billion kilos ($12.8 billion.)