Highgrove: King Charles' amazing country mansion with 'panic room' and a new landlord; The King now has to pay rent for the home to his son.

Byline: By, Cathy Owen

Highgrove is not an official royal residence, but it is the place where King Charles has retreated to since he bought it in 1980. The stunning home not far from the Welsh border is where he loses himself in the elaborate gardens of the garden retreat.

After his marriage to Diana in 1981, the Cotswolds mansion became their marital home and it was there where the couple and their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, would spend their weekends.

The boys spent a large amount of their childhood there, but Diana grew to detest the estate and once said that going there was a "return to prison".

She preferred city life and is said to not like the fact that Camilla lived nearby, while her then-husband longed to be in the countryside indulging in his love of gardening.

The house is located near Tetbury and Westonbirt Arboretum, which is close to Worcestershire down the M5, had been the home of Maurice Macmillan, Conservative MP for Farnham and son of the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan for 14 years, before being purchased by Charles.

He remodelled the Georgian house with neo-classical additions in 1987, and went about transforming the overgrown and untended gardens.

They now flourish, boasting rare trees, flowers and heirloom seeds, and have been open to the public since 1996, with more than 30,000 people visit every year. The house and gardens are run according to the King's environmental principles and have been the subject of several books and television programmes

Since marrying Camilla in 2005, it has been the preferred home for the royal couple when they don't have any official engagements in other parts of the country. Although Camilla has also kept her own mansion in nearby Wiltshire. Princes Anne's country residence, Gatcombe park, is only six miles away.

Highgrove is a nine-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion and it is renowned for its beautiful décor and stunning gardens. It also has four reception rooms, with a nursery wing and staff quarters. Other buildings built by Charles at the estate, include beehive pavilions and a beef yard, built in traditional Cotswold stone. Four semi-detached cottages were also renovated. The home also includes a steel-lined panic room in order to keep the King and his wife safe during a terrorist attack.

You can see why the new King like the homes so much when you see the gardens:

According to royal biographer Brian Hoey's book Not in Front of the Corgis, the 'iron room', which is located on the first floor, "measures 20ft by 20ft, and "has been so built that even if the rest of the house is destroyed, it will drop intact to the ground floor".

Inside the room, are medical supplies, containers of Charles and Camilla's blood group, long-lasting food and drinks, an armoury, radio transmitters equipped to obtain a signal even within its steel walls, air purifiers and chemical toilets.

Despite now being King, Charles is expected to keep Highgrove as his family home, but as it is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, William is set to inherit the property. That means that the new Prince of Wales will become his father's landlord, and will be expecting him to pay around £700,000 a year in rent.

Charles is said to be keen on revising the amount of property owned by the Royals, with his coronation also projected to be shorter, cheaper and less ostentatious -a move which will no doubt be welcomed as it comes amidst the current cost of living crisis.

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Credit: PA

Highgrove House is about 30 miles from the Welsh border

Credit: Getty Images

The home is nestled in the Cotswold countryside

Credit: Hugo Burnand/Clarence House/PA

Charles has owned Highgrove for four decades

Credit: ITV

Camilla, with her dog Beth, was pictured in the garden earlier this year to mark her 75th birthday

Credit: PA

The gardens were open to the public to mark the 25th anniversary in 2019

Credit: PA

Just part of the stunning gardens

Credit: PA

Charles loves gardening

Article Details

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Title Annotation:	UK News
Author:	By, Cathy Owen
Publication:	Wales Online (Cardiff, Wales)
Geographic Code:	4EUUK
Date:	Sep 25, 2022
Words:	746
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