His Royal Highness, Charles, the Prince of Wales, is known for his environmental advocacy - nature conservation, organic farming, and devotion to countryside life. When not in London or Scotland, he spends most of his time at Highgrove, his private estate in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. Highgrove home farm is part of the duchy of Cornwall's investment portfolio.
Highgrove Estate
The estate has a home farm from the duchy of Cornwall, magnificent gardens with blooms in season, a nine-bedroom Georgian mansion, and sweeping greenery. The home farm is run with the best possible innovative agricultural system free from pesticides. Prince Charles himself personally oversees its development all throughout the decades.
The home farm at Highgrove is purely organic and is a model of sustainable farming maintained with clean energy. The entire estate is surrounded by sweeping greenery, a beautiful landscape of nature, and planted with a variety of wild species, trees and flowers.
Life works of Prince Charles
Highgrove is the future king's life works, it's his lifelong project and he invested so much time, energy, and money to make it a model of sustainable development. It is run according to his environmental principles. He personally supervised Highgrove's agricultural innovation, organic farming, and elaborate gardens.
He acquired the property in 1980 before he dated Lady Diana Spencer and slowly transformed the estate into an organic home farm with extensive gardens and wild meadows. The Prince of Wales asked Lady Diana to help him choose the interior furnishing of Highgrove House.
After the royal wedding in July 1981, they made Highgrove their country residence. Diana, the Princess of Wales added her personal touch to the Highgrove House's interior. Highgrove House is a Georgian mansion with nine bedrooms and six bathrooms.
Diana had so many happy memories at Highgrove. It was there where she would spend weekends with his young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. She would organize small parties for her sons and their friends at the private gardens. The Princess of Wales stopped spending time in Highgrove when her marriage to Prince Charles became irretrievably broken in the late part of 1990.
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| Diana, Princess of Wales resting at Highgrove Gardens |
Perfect Model for Sustainability and Zero Waste
The Prince of Wales made sure Highgrove reflects his environmental advocacy. Solar panels are installed and the mansion is heated using a wood chip boiler. The property also managed its own waste disposal. It has machinery installed that filtered and recycled waste.
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The Prince and Princess of Wales at Highgrove and their two young sons |
Garden Tours at Highgrove
Highgrove is home to one of the most spectacular gardens in the world. Highgrove gardens are adorned with scented flowers like wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle, and thyme. It first opened its door to the public in 1994, and since then regularly offered tour packages during spring, summer, and winter.
The income from the garden tours goes to the Prince of Wales charitable funds. Guided tour packages are available from April to October. However, due to the pandemic, Highgrove is closed to the public for the rest of 2020, it will resume in Spring 2021 according to its website Highgrove Gardens.
Prince Charles worked on the garden designs with his architects. It has three different sections, the wild garden, which has meadows and wildflowers, the formal garden, and the walled kitchen garden. The Wildflower Meadow of Highgrove is one of the most captivating areas in the gardens. It features endangered native plants like the spotted orchid.
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| The Wild Meadow in Highgrove |
The arboretum is where varieties of beech and cherry trees grow, it has a stunning magnolia walk with pink and white flowers. Highgrove has The Stumpery, where the young Prince William and Prince Harry used to play around. The Stumpery was inspired by Victorian gardening techniques, with a thatched tree house, an oak temple, and the Cottage Garden.
Highlights of Highgrove Garden Tour
Highgrove Gardens' website offers a preview of how breathtaking the property is. An ideal destination for nature lovers, garden lovers, and those who are seeking serenity and calmness in travel.
It is one of the most magnificent, most modern English countryside gardens in the United Kingdom and probably, all of Europe. A sweeping view of nature will greet visitors upon entering the estate.
The Stumpery
One of the most tranquil corners in the Highgrove outdoor scenery is the Stumpery. It is situated in the middle of the wild gardens and the meadows. The tree house in the center was originally built for the young Prince William and Prince Harry in 1989.
It was at the tree house where the royal brothers, William and Harry, spent many happier weekends of their young lives playing around and sometimes joined by their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
His Royal Highness designed the flowerbeds that connect to the pathway on either side leading to the house. The view looks refreshing and exudes tranquility, similar to the scenes in fairytale books. Awesome scenery of nature!
Thyme Walk
Apart from elegant blooms in season and wildflower meadows, Highgrove is also renowned for its spectacular Thyme walk, a unique landscape in urban gardening.
Clipped golden yew lines the Thyme Walk, a stunning garden avenue planted with more than 20 varieties of Thyme, interspersed with primrose and marjoram species.
This corner of the gardens draws visitors' eyes to the terrace garden of the Highgrove mansion. The Lily pool garden is located at the bottom of Thyme walk.
Other Areas
Apart from the opulent gardens, there are other interesting sections within the Highgrove estate that guests can explore and enjoy during their visit.
The Orchard Tea Room - a dining area where guests can enjoy a variety of fresh meals prepared from the home farm of the estate, delightful culinary desserts, champagne, and refreshment.
The Estate Shop - a variety of artisan products, home, and garden ware, artworks, and other unique items inspired by the gardening principles of the Prince of Wales are on display and can be bought by visitors.
Highgrove Gardens tour will resume in 2021 Spring, to plan and book your visit, visit the property's website: HIGHGROVE GARDENS
A passionate environmentalist
Not so long ago, the Prince of Wales had been mocked for talking to his plants in Highgrove but now scientists really proved that talking to plants is beneficial to their healthy and vibrant growth.
Prince Charles has devoted most of his adult life promoting environmental ideas, conservation of nature, modern gardening and organic farming.
His Highgrove estate is the perfect embodiment of a clean and thriving natural beauty of nature and sustainable living. He personally tended his own gardens.
His Royal Highness is ahead of his time when it comes to environmental science. In 1990s, when most people never think too much about climate change, Prince Charles already expressed his worries about the impact of global warming on humanity and the environment.
Now, the world is picking up and recognizing this greatest challenge in human existence. Prince Charles eventually is recognized as one of the world's high-profile conservationists.
Happy Birthday Prince Charles
Prince Charles celebrates his 72nd birthday today. He is the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history and the oldest king-in-waiting.
From the 1980s to the 1990s he was put in a bad light due to his extramarital affair with his now-wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles, and had been the source of the sorrow of Diana, Princess of Wales. Now, the future king is largely seen as an affectionate man dedicated to his role as heir-apparent.
Highgrove estate is his life works, defining who he is in private. It reflects his love for the environment and nature and his desire to prefer country living to urban living.
Many have speculated that Prince Charles might move the working office of the monarchy to Windsor castle from Buckingham Palace when he becomes king due to his devotion of the countryside life. speculation that is not confirmed by the palace.
He has been heir apparent since 1952. At the time of his birth in 1948, he was second in line to the British throne behind his mother. In 1952 when the Queen ascended the throne, he became Duke of Cornwall. In 1967, he has invested Prince of Wales.
Happy birthday Prince Charles! Thanks for the love of the environment and for inspiring us to embrace nature and support organic farming! 👑 🎂
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