Duke of Westminster pledges £12.5m to fight against Covid-19 with millions going direct to NHS

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The Duke of Westminster has pledged £12.5m to the fight against coronavirus
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Robert Jobson15 April 2020

The Duke of Westminster, one of the UK’s richest men, has pledged £12.5 million to the national Covid-19 relief effort, with millions going direct to the NHS.

Hugh Grosvenor, who is Prince George’s godfather and a friend of the royal family, said he was “humbled” by the work of NHS and frontline workers keeping the country safe and wanted to help in the battle against the killer virus.

The 29-year-old billionaire personally donated £2.5 million last month at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but has now given a further £10 million.

The funding will be made available to support the NHS, medical research and development, and charities helping the nation’s long-term recovery from the pandemic. It was also granted to charities providing essential food distribution, especially to vulnerable families struggling to feed their children who would normally receive free school meals.

The duke, the world's richest person aged under 30 who pays £69 million tax bill from his £10.1 billion wealth, said: “On behalf of my family and everyone at the Grosvenor Estate, I want to say a huge thank you to all our amazing NHS staff and everyone providing critical frontline services.

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“We are all humbled and incredibly grateful that you are working tirelessly to keep us safe and keep the country functioning.

“NHS staff and key workers don’t work in isolation. They have children and families whose health and wellbeing will also be highly impacted by this crisis.

“As they keep us safe, I want to help provide as much support to them and their families as we can.

“Our donation will help create a Family Fund within NHS Charities Together to provide food, respite, rehabilitation and positive mental health support to NHS staff and their families."

Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster (second from left) with the Duke of Cambridge (right)
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He added: “While the impact of this crisis is being felt immediately, the virus will sadly also affect people’s lives long into the future.

“That’s why I’m keen to support the longer-term scientific and socio-economic response to the epidemic. Through these donations, my Foundation will work with a range of fantastic charities and organisations who are able to help vulnerable people in the difficult months ahead.”

Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together said: “We are all incredibly grateful for this most generous donation which will make such a difference to NHS staff coping with the enormity of Covid-19.

“With the fantastic support we have received, both we and our member NHS charities are doing as much as we can to support patients, NHS staff, volunteers and carers during this emergency.

The duke is Prince George's godfather
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“But we know many NHS staff have chosen to keep their families safe by staying apart and focusing their time and energy to care for their patients and save lives.

“Their dedication is not only remarkable but no doubt comes with its own price and if I may speak on their behalf, we say a heartfelt thank you to the Westminster Foundation.”

Through the Westminster Foundation, the duke will donate £5m to NHS Charities Together, specifically to create a ‘family fund’ that will support NHS workers and their families.

He will donate £3m to national medical research and development linked to Covid-19, while there will also be £2m donated to charities and organisations providing frontline support to people who will feel the greatest long-term economic and social impact of the epidemic.

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The duke’s late father Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the 6th Duke, who died of a heart attack, was a close friend of the Queen and The Prince of Wales.

The peerage was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the British royal family.

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