Highgrove


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Prince's ´garden book´ published
April 20

A book of botanical illustrations recording plants in the garden of Prince Charles at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire has been published.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Gloucestershire | Prince's 'garden book' published

The Highgrove Florilegium is published
21st April 2008

Two of The Prince’s passions, horticulture and painting, have been combined in a new book, The Highgrove Florilegium.

The Prince of Wales - The Highgrove Florilegium is published
 
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Prince Charles has released a new book...it costs more than £5,000 a volume.

I guess this means it's off the reading list for the TRF Book Club.
 
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Here's an article on Highgrove from the Telegraph that highlights Charles' emphasis on environmental sustainability in design. I think he has some really great ideas here, and he should be much more well-known for this sort of design. (If this is better suited to another thread, go ahead and move it. I'm still figuring out the thread order here.)

In farming, Prince Charles knows that the old ways are the new ways

The magnificent, somewhat eccentric, gardens include intricate topiary (which dates back to classical times), Victorian stumperies, willow beds supplying withies, and reed beds to treat the sewage. They receive no chemical fertilisers or pesticides, or even peat, relying instead on homemade compost. And the estate farm has famously been organic for a quarter of a century, practising an age-old rotation, powered by clover, which is grown with grass on each field for three years, to provide grazing and build up nitrogen in the soil for subsequent crops.
 
There is a loveley book The Gardens at Highgrove by Candida Lycett Green.
 
He can't inherit it but he could 'lease' it - as Charles does now.
 
Does Charles actually lease it since he is the Duke of Cornwall and Highgrove is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall? So he would be basically paying himself.

Harry could lease from his brother but he won't have a large private income source like his brother and father will.


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Here is a link to Highgrove House on Wikipedia:

Highgrove House - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

According to what is says, Highgrove was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall and Charles was "appointed tenant for life...by the Duchy". It does not necessarily mean he pays a rent on the property or the legal agreement making him tenant is exactly the same as a lease. Remember that the Duchy is a legal entity in its own right and Charles is the holder of the Duke of Cornwall title.
When Charles becomes king, he may well decide to remain tenant of Highgrove or give it up to enable Harry to become tenant.
 
It's also believable that for the same reasons that Charles picked Highgrove in the 80s its location to Wales, Duchy lands and London that William would want to use for the same purpose when he is Duke.


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I thought other reasons Charles chose Highgrove as his country home was proximity to the Beaufort Hunt and also to the home of the Parker Bowles.

I just don't think Harry would have the income to maintain Highgrove and more particularly it's wonderful gardens, in the way the estate deserves.

Although Highgrove itself is a reasonably small house by royal standards, the grounds surrounding it are extensive. A team of gardeners is needed to keep the gardens in pristine shape and Charles himself spends many happy hours toiling there.

Unless Harry is a very keen gardener indeed and is also prepared to spend a large chunk of his income annually on gardeners' wages, tools, new plants etc., I don't think Harry and any family of his will be settling at Highgrove in future years. (More likely to be a house on the Sandringham estate, IMO.)
 
I thought other reasons Charles chose Highgrove as his country home was proximity to the Beaufort Hunt and also to the home of the Parker Bowles.

I just don't think Harry would have the income to maintain Highgrove and more particularly it's wonderful gardens, in the way the estate deserves.

Although Highgrove itself is a reasonably small house by royal standards, the grounds surrounding it are extensive. A team of gardeners is needed to keep the gardens in pristine shape and Charles himself spends many happy hours toiling there.

Unless Harry is a very keen gardener indeed and is also prepared to spend a large chunk of his income annually on gardeners' wages, tools, new plants etc., I don't think Harry and any family of his will be settling at Highgrove in future years. (More likely to be a house on the Sandringham estate, IMO.)

Location definitely had something to do with it, access to London, Cornwall and Wales etc. Ultimately, Highgrove has become quite an asset for the Duchy, especially all that Charles has done to it, including the commercial side of it (shop, restaurant, tours). Charles income is from the Duchy, so the Duchy must be paying for its upkeep and gardening etc.

When Charles becomes king, he could keep it on as "lifelong tenant" and let Harry use it, or the Duchy could sell it or rent it to someone. Indeed, they could rent it to Harry and keep on paying the upkeep. I suppose it depends on how much money it generates commercially, how much it's rentable value is and what the Duchy's long term plans would be for it.
 
I think highgrove mightn't have very happy memories for Harry


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If you ever go to the Duchy of Cornwall's website it talks about preserving the assets for future generations. As an example the Treasury has approve the sale of property greater than £500k. The Duke doesn't have access to the capital of the Duchy.

The people who are best set up to maintain Highgrove in the future are the next 2 Dukes of Cornwall- William and George.


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If Charles was appointed 'tenant for life' that suggests to me that the plan is for him to continue to use the estate even after he becomes King - interesting.
 
I was under the impression that Highgrove was self supporting, is that not the case. So Harry wouldn't necessary need the income to sustain it.

And while future Harry won't have the Duchy income, he will have the money from his father, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.....I would imagine he will be fairly wealthy...but thats the topic for another thread near in the future.
 
I don't believe that Highgrove is self sustaining. The only part open to the public is the garden. It's website says the profits of the tours, restaurant and shop are donated to the Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation.

The gardens would need maintenance plus the building too. Salaries for the staff plus the utilities. It would all add up. Plus the Duchy is the owner and would be entitled to the profits if any not the renter.

We also don't know the wording of the tenant for life agreement for Charles. When it was bought Charles was still single and there were no guarantees that he would have a son to become the next Duke.


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It strikes me as very sad if Charles, after the decades of work poured into Highgrove, would somehow be required to leave simply because he became king. :sad: When I think of my garden, a mere 5 years old, I can't imagine leaving a house with gardens decades old and a genuine labor of my love. Plus, I don't think either of Charles' sons have shown a penchant for the gardening life. Highgrove would never be the same were it to pass to either of them. It doesn't seem right for Highgrove to be anything but Charles' bolt-hold, and no one else's, at least for the length of Charles' life.
 
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Charles didn't really have a passion for gardening until he got his own country house. William is just getting the taste of have his own house to putter with. Plus we know Kate has experimented with growing vegetables and such. Plus William grew up there too and would have an attachment to it also so he isn't going to be ripping out his father's gardens the moment he becomes Duke of Cornwall.


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I really don't think Charles will be King for at least another 8 or 9 years so by then he will know if highgrove is suitable for Harry


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I really don't think Charles will be King for at least another 8 or 9 years so by then he will know if highgrove is suitable for Harry


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I would be surprised if Harry took on Highgrove. It is a Duchy of Cornwall property, so I suspect William will take it on.

IMO, Harry will have one primary residence only - albeit in London at KP, or a place in the country with a smaller flat at KP.
 
The Highgrove Christmas Shop and Orchard Restaurant will be open exclusively for YOU readers on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November.

Arriving at 12 noon, you will be welcomed into the Ante Room for a glass of Highgrove Champagne and served a selection of canapés.

This will be followed by a two-course lunch in the Orchard Restaurant, which includes a glass of organic Highgrove wine.
Read more: Join us for a festive lunch at Highgrove* | Daily Mail Online
 
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