King Charles missing out on life-long love in twilight years – ‘but he has no regrets’
From planting vegetables as a child alongside his sister, Princess Anne, to his magnificent reinvention of Highgrove, our green-fingered monarch has been a lifelong pioneer of gardening. “As I get older, all I really long for is to plant trees.” So said our King, back in 2018, as he mused on how – had he not been born into arguably the world’s most famous family – he would choose to spend his twilight years.
Charles fell in love with nature as a little boy, when he and Princess Anne would play amongst Buckingham Palace’s immaculate lawns and flowerbeds. Speaking to Gardeners World in 2018, he revealed that he and his sister had their own little plot “where we grew vegetables and things”.
His grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was an early influence and Charles has recalled how he would, as a child, enjoy the “wonderful garden” at the Royal Lodge, her residence in Windsor Great Park.
“I remember being absolutely riveted as a child wandering about… looking at all the plants,” he said. “The smell and everything had a profound effect on me. I don’t know why, but I also grew to love trees – they always fascinated me.”
In 1980, when Charles bought Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, he ploughed his considerable energies into overhauling the gardens – or lack of them – surrounding the 18th century property.
