The Americans have embassies all
around the world. In every case they buy the land first and then build their
embassy. The Americans assumed that this would be possible in England; hence
they asked the Duke of Westminster, who owned Grosvenor Square, how much they
would have to pay to buy the freehold of the land. However, what they did not know is that the
Grosvenor family never sell. Their vast wealth is based precisely on this
simple fact; they own their 300 acres of central London including most of Belgravia
and Mayfair, not to mention land holdings all over the world. All the houses
and offices on this land are leased; their freeholds are never sold.
When the Americans were told the
news, they insisted that that was unacceptable, therefore petitioning to
Parliament in order to force the Duke to sell. Nevertheless the Grosvenor
family did not comply with any pressure.
The Duke then thought of a new
compromise. He told the furious Americans whether they were prepared to return
to the Grosvenor family all those lands in the USA that were stolen after the
American War of Independence, then he would allow the Americans to buy their
site on the west side of Grosvenor Square. However, the Americans knew that
they were beaten, because the Grosvenor family was basically asking for most of
Maine and New York, owned once by the family. They also were not prepared to
merely hand over land that they had stolen from the Indians. Therefore, they
backed down and the Duke of Westminster allowed them a 999 year lease.
That is why the American Embassy
is considered one of the most bizarre and protracted processes of negotiation
ever seen in London. It is the only American Embassy in the world which is not
owned by the United States of America.
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