Earl Cadogan’s Passing

The 8th Earl Cadogan, who headed up Cadogan Estates, owners of almost 100 acres of Kensington and Chelsea, has passed away

A statement from Cadogan Estates reads: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Charles Gerald John, 8th Earl Cadogan KBE DL. Lord Cadogan passed away peacefully on 11 June 2023 at home in Chelsea. He will be fondly remembered by all who knew him.”

The Cadogan Estates empire includes more than 500,000 square feet of office space, five embassies, seven schools and more than 30 restaurants and bars. The Earl himself led the purchase of the department store Harvey Nichols and he encouraged the acquisition and development of Chelsea Barracks, creating what is now the Duke of York Square retail hub. The businessman also led the creation of Chelsea's Cadogan Hall music venue, which opened on the site of a disused church.

His passion for Chelsea, however, went far beyond that of a businessman. Having had a home there throughout his life, Lord Cadogan valued the local community and provided cut-price rentals for flats for teachers, nurses and police officers, as well as grace and favour accommodation for individuals such as retired vicars and charity workers. Rents remain frozen for elderly residents of the Estate to this day.

A committed Christian, he was a patron of five churches and an enthusiastic philanthropist, giving generously through the Cadogan family charity as well as supporting local and national causes. In a nod to his love of sport, he briefly served as chairman of Chelsea Football Club in the early 1980s and was a director for 20 years. He was recognised in the late Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2012, and awarded with the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his philanthropic endeavours. He was honoured again in 2015, when the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea named him Honorary Freeman in ‘recognition of his exceptional service of the Royal Borough and support for local charities’.

The tribute on the Cadogan Estates' website added: “His strong sense of duty – he never stopped attending the office, charity events, dinners, cocktail parties, meetings and so on – was tempered by a sincere warmth which engendered a great loyalty and affection, whether with senior executives in London or shepherds in the Highlands of Scotland.

“He made a connection with people because of his genuine interest in who they were as opposed to what they were. He disliked formality and yet was punctilious about time – woe betide anyone attending his meetings late, and would often arrive at events well before they had commenced.

“He was irreverent, sometimes breathtakingly so, and yet maintained a routine that was as consistent as it was inflexible.”