King Charles's Highgrove hideaway: The Gloucestershire estate beloved by the monarch

King Charles has returned to his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire for a private day of reflection.

In the London Bridge planning for the aftermath of the Queen‘s death a day was set aside for the new monarch to take time away from public duties at his family residence.

He is not expected to attend any public events, though it is understood he will be working in preparation for his new role and will be receiving his red boxes of state papers.

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The King will spend first day out of the public spotlight since the death of his mother at his beloved Highgrove House near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, a Georgian neo-classical house which serves as the private home for the monarch the Queen Consort.

A passionate gardener and environmentalist, King Charles has spent over 40 years transforming the gardens around the house.

The home has been owned by various families until it was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall from former prime minister Harold Macmillan’s son, Maurice Macmillan, in 1980.

The King chose the nine-bedroom mansion for its easy access to London, Wales and other properties owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.

He and his then-wife Princess Diana renovated the property with neo-classical additions in 1987 and the interior was stripped out and redecorated.

The King’s passion project has been the estate’s gardens, which were overgrown and untended when he first moved in but have since been completely overhauled.

The green-fingered monarch introduced a wild garden, formal garden, walled kitchen and a stumpery.

His environmental beliefs are echoed on the estate, which includes solar panels, biomass boilers and air source heat pumps, while waste from the house is filtered through a natural reed bed sewage system.

Fruit and vegetables from the kitchen garden are used for meals at Charles and Camilla’s table, while flowers in the garden are used to decorate the house.

The King has also planted rare trees and plants for future generations and heritage seeds have been planted to ensure they flourish.

The monarch has said: “One of my greatest joys is to see the pleasure that the garden can bring to many of the visitors and that everybody seems to find some part of it that is special to them.”

Guests and the public have been able to tour the gardens since 1994 and thousands visit each year.

It remains to be seen where the King will live during his reign.

Traditionally the monarch would live at Buckingham Palace, though a friend previously told the Mail on Sunday: “Despite what everybody thinks about him not wanting to live there, he will certainly have accommodation there – but it will be a much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation akin to that of the Prime Minister at Downing Street.”

The house technically belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall, so has passed to Prince William who is the new Duke of Cornwall.

It means the King could pay his son an estimated £700,000 a year in rent to stay at Highgrove, according to the Daily Mail.

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