 Work was scarce after Ampton 's completion in 1889 , and in 1890 Balfour applied for the post of surveyor for the 1st Duke of Westminster 's Grosvenor Estate , to succeed Thomas Cundy . He seemed unlikely to be selected , but Frances made a direct approach to the Duke ( who was also her uncle ) , and he got the job . Balfour 's social standing appears to have been a significant factor in his appointment . He was the son @-@ in @-@ law of a Duke , nephew of a Marquess , and his wife was the sister @-@ in @-@ law of Queen Victoria 's 4th daughter Princess Louise ( who had married her oldest brother John in 1871 ) . Balfour had a strong sense of social class , and Frances Balfour later described the 1st Duke of Westminster as having run the estate " not as today on commercial lines , but more as a Principality " . Even so , his brother Gerald 's wife Lady Elizabeth Balfour noted that when the surveyor called on the Duke in his professional role he was " never offered a chair and never expected one " . 
