Many of the houses that the royals live in don't actually belong to them. Buckingham Palace, for example, is part of the Crown Estate that's technically owned by the citizens of the UK. It simply passes from one monarch to another, but most of the royals have private property as well, where they can retreat for country getaways. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have Highgrove House, which is in Gloucestershire, England.
Charles brought the property in 1980 from the son of former UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and it's remained the prince's home away from home ever since. He even raised Prince William and Prince Harry there when they were little.
The Highgrove estate is fit for a king, with nine bedrooms and six bathrooms, but it's the expansive gardens that have since become one of the most famous parts of the estate. Charles loves to garden, and he's turned Highgrove House into a masterpiece.
Take a look.
Stunning Building
The stately mansion is a cream color with vines growing up the walls that give it a rustic, natural vibe. And when the leaves change color in the fall, it gets even prettier — as if that was possible. Charles sure knew what he was doing when he bought this property.
Plain Dining Room
This photo was taken shortly before Charles moved in, before the place was upgraded. The dining room looks like it could belong to any family with a plain table and a couple of photos on the wall. The prince remodeled in 1987, and hopefully, he gave some love to this dining room.
Floral Drawing Room
Before Charles moved in, the drawing room was a mishmash of chairs and filled to the brim with floral-print curtains and a floral couch. Although he loves a good garden, a flower print doesn't seem so much Charles' taste for home decor, so this room likely saw a makeover as well once he got the keys.
Charles Moves In
This picture was taken in 1982, and Charles had already settled in well to Highgrove. In the living room, he went with a bright green and blue color scheme, adding personal touches — like family photos — on the table.
PS: That couch is a vast improvement over the floral one.
Play Area for Will & Harry
Harry and Will spent a lot of their childhood at Highgrove, so Charles had a play area built in the garden. It included a swingset, slide, and little plastic playhouse. In the background of the photo, it looks like there's a matching slide, as if Charles may have built one set for each son to play on.
Backyard Pool
For the summertime, Highgrove House has a pool, which can be seen in the corner of this photo of Charles and little Harry. The temperature in Gloucester rarely gets above 70 degrees, though — even in the summer — so the pool may not have gotten a whole lot of use.
Looks pretty, at least.
Adding a Statue Garden
Called the "Wall of Worthies," this section of the gardens contains busts of people who have been influential in Prince Charles life. According to the Daily Mail, some of the worthy people include musician Sir John Tavener, poet Dr. Kathleen Raine, and Debo Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire.
His Dog Tigga Is Memorialized There
When Charles' beloved Jack Russell terrier named Tigga died in 2002, he gave the pup a permanent memorial in the Highgrove gardens. He commissioned an artist to create a statue of Tigga out of willow twigs, and the dog now stands watch over the land. Charles and Camilla are both big dog people, so this addition to Highgrove just made sense.
Working Organic Farm
Prince Charles is really dedicated to making Highgrove sustainable, and that included creating an organic farm on the land. According to Instagram, the gardens grow apples, pears, leeks, sprouts, and more. The apples and pears are then juiced (or pickled) and are available to the public to purchase.
Charles Built Prince George a Tree House
Originally built for Prince William in 1988, People magazine reported that Prince Charles had the tree house renovated for little Prince George. The two of them often play together at Highgrove, even having tea parties with plastic cups. Charles is such a doting grandpa.
Dressed Up for Christmas
The royals sure know how to put together festive holiday decor. Here's what Highgrove looked like in 2019 for the Christmas season. (We love the fancy garlands and giant tree.) In the past, Charles and Camilla have even invited special guests to decorate the tree with them.
Beehives in the Garden
In addition to a working farm, Highgrove has working beehives, just like Clarence House does. Every year, the Highgrove estate sells the honey that the bees produce, and the hives help keep the gardens well-pollinated and the bees happy. It's a win-win all around. Want to try the honey? It's for sale here.
An Assortment of Bird Houses
The gardens play host to all types of wild birds, and Charles has seen to it that they're fed year-round with an assortment of bird houses. Even when the temperature drops, and the estate gets snow, the birds get their food. One of the groundskeepers said in a video that it's important to keep the birds well-fed through the cold months so they can nest in the spring.
How thoughtful.
Charles Has a Secret Sanctuary
Hidden in the gardens of Highgrove is a little building called the Sanctuary. According to a Google digital exhibit of the grounds, the Sanctuary was built to commemorate the new millennium in 2000. Its door is locked, and only Charles and a few close friends have the key. We don't know what's behind the door, but it sounds top secret.
Take a 360-Degree Tour
In 2019, Prince Charles partnered with Google to give an expansive 360 virtual tour of the Highgrove gardens — his pride and joy. Check it out here to get a closer look at everything we mentioned on this list, plus some other pretty parts of the expansive grounds.
