Royal residences: Highgrove and its gardens

Some royals do have a fantastic garden around their estates. These always 
give fantastic ideas for your own garden or balcony .... 

So let's take a closer look to Highgrove, the home of Charles,
Prince of Wales. It is no secret at all that Highgrove has a wonderful garden too. 

Highgrove is the family residence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of
Cornwall. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Near
Tetbury, in the County of Gloucestershire in South West England, Gatcombe Park,
the country residence of Anne, Princess Royal is located between the villages of
Minchinhampton and Avening. 

History

Highgrove  House was built in 1796 to 1798 by John Paul Paul and believed to
have designed by architect Anthony Keck. 

In 1864 the house was sold to a barrister, William Yatman. Yatman was described
as one of the "chief preservers of foxes." 

Yatman left Highgrove following a fire in 1893. The house was rebuilt by
Arthur Mitchell. The Mitchells sold Highgrove after World War II to
Lt Col. Gwyn Morgan. 

In 1956 the estate had been bought by the Macmillan family. In August 1980
the Highgrove estate was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall. 

Highgrove was initially occupied by the Prince of Wales, his wife, Diana,
Princess of Wales and their two children: Prince William (now
Duke of Cambridge) and Prince Harry (now Duke of Sussex). 

Gardens

Nowadays Highgrove is famous for its gardens. The Prince of Wales has 
created a wild garden, a formal garden and a walled kitchen garden. 
He also has planted a large numbers of trees in the ground. Other features
in the garden are:

- Carpet garden;

- Southern Hemisphere Garden;

- Walled Garden;

- The Autumn Walk;

- Sundial Garden

and a Woodland Garden. 

The first Head Gardener was Debs Goodenough, he was in July 2008 replaced
by David Howard. 

Biological gardening

Already in 1985, organic farming was introduced on three blocks of land as
part of a move to what has been called biologically sustainable farming linked
to conservation. The step to full organic status on the whole estate was
completed in 1994. 

Visiting

People can visit the gardens between April and mid-October. Over 30,000
people visit the gardens annually! No camera's are allowed in the gardens. 

A shop

In 1992, the Prince of Wales opened the Highgrove retail shops which sell
products from home and gardens. The shops are located in Tetbury and in London.

In London the products of Highgrove are available in Fortnum & Mason. All
profits from the sale of the products are paid to The Prince of Wales's Charitable
foundation. In 2014, the shops began selling products online. 

Link to Highgrove Gardens and to the shop as well. 

 

On the first day of Spring in 2021, Charles, Prince of Wales and his wife
Duchess of Cornwall posted a picture of them, taken in the gardens
of Highgrove. You can check the picture on this link. 

In 2022 Charles, Prince of Wales became King Charles III, the Duchess 
of Cornwall received the title Queen Consort. 

Prince William and his wife became Prince and Princess of Wales. 

If you want to read more about Highgrove and its gardens, check the books in this 
blogpost. The first one is in English, the second one in German. 

Source pictures: Book Covers