Yahoo Finance Inside Highgrove House, King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort's private country house
One of the royal family's most delightful country estates, Highgrove House has been a much-loved family home of His Majesty, King Charles III since he bought it in 1980. It's where the monarch chose to live with Camilla, the now Queen Consort, when he was the Prince of Wales.
A beautiful country attraction in the Cotswolds, it's a wonderful place for a garden tour (the house itself is closed to the public) and worth adding to your UK bucket list.
Here, we take a look at Highgrove House and Gardens in the Cotswolds, whether the public can visit and who lives there...
Where is Highgrove House?
Located just a couple of miles from Tetbury in Gloucestershire, among the gold and green fields of the Cotswolds, Highgrove is just a 10-minute drive from the walking trails of Westonbirt Arboretum and the Arts & Crafts country house, Rodmarton Manor.
Surrounded by gorgeous rolling countryside and other important properties, it’s no surprise that Highgrove’s gardens are considered some of the UK’s most inspiring and innovative.
Can you visit Highgrove House?
As it’s the private residence of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, Highgrove House itself is closed to the public. However, its extensive Royal Gardens are open for tours, including group garden tours, champagne and tea tours.
You can also enjoy a Highgrove cream tea in the opulent Orchard Tea Room and browse the Estate Shop for a range of artisan goods, such as chutneys and ports.
All profits from the produce on sale, garden tours and events are donated to the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund, which supports mental and physical health activities, the arts and the environment.
Does King Charles live at Highgrove House?
Before he became King, Highgrove was the private residence of Charles and Camilla and the royal couple spent their time between their London property Clarence House and the Gloucestershire manor. Now that Charles is King, he could make Buckingham Palace his main residence.
King Charles first arrived at Highgrove in 1980 and since then devoted time and energy into transforming the gardens into the unique space you can visit today. Within five years, His Majesty introduced organic farming on the grounds and by 1994, the estate had gained full organic status.
What can you see at Highgrove House?
One of the absolute highlights of Highgrove is the colourful four-acre Wildflower Meadow, which features endangered native plants like the spotted orchid.
The Kitchen Garden is where you’ll find a bounty of fruits, the Carpet Garden is cloaked in exotic scented flowers and the Lily Pool Garden provides water for visiting birds to drink and bathe in, all year round.
Plus, thanks to Charles and his friend Lady Salisbury, the gardens are adorned with scented flowers like wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle and thyme.
Around 180 chickens roam areas of the Estate under a mixed range of fruit trees. Around 4,000 eggs are collected every year, which are then used in the Orchard Tea Room and sold in the Estate Shop.
Another highlight is the Arboretum, where varieties of beech, acer and cherry trees grow, as well as magnolias – the pink and white flowers are a favourite of King Charles.
There’s also The Stumpery, inspired by Victorian gardening techniques, with a thatched tree house, a National Collection of hostas and an oak temple and the Cottage Garden, inspired by the colours of Tibet.
The Sundial Garden has a central stone sundial and purple and blue delphiniums, while the Thyme Walk is home to a whopping twenty varieties of thyme.
When is the best time to visit Highgrove?
Due to the care and effort that goes into maintaining the diverse grounds at Highgrove, the gardens are glorious in all seasons.
Spring is a lovely time to see tulips, camassia quamash and crown imperials. In the summer, you'll see bright hydrangeas, azaleas and lavender.
Autumn is when the gardens are completely transformed into fiery hues of orange, red and yellow. And pretty snowdrops, as well as snow itself, can usually be seen during the winter months.
Where can you stay nearby?
Whatley Manor, just five miles from Highgrove and 10 minutes from Westonbirt Arboretum, is a stunning option. This country hotel and spa has a two-Michelin star restaurant.
Set by rolling fields, on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds near Malmesbury, you'll enter Whatley Manor through a walled courtyard which conjures the sense of stepping into another world.
For something small and stylish, check out the ornate 18th-century Cotswold Inn, The Ormond.
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