Enews, Events, Gardens & Outdoor Events
Join us for a Private Visit to His Majesty King Charles III’s Garden at Highgrove, followed by the famous Champagne Afternoon Tea: and extend the pleasure with a stay at Members’ favourite Cotswold hotels: Monday, June 15, 2026: fully booked and a new date announced
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Update: This event is now oversubscribed and waitlisted. However, we are pleased to announce that we have received from Highgrove Garden an additional date for a private visit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026 – see our new announcement here. . .
We are pleased to invite our Members to a private visit to Highgrove Garden, the Gloucestershire home of His Majesty King Charles III, on Monday, June 15, 2026. At this time of year, the garden is at its early summer peak, with borders, meadow and woodland all coming into their own. It promises to be a magical occasion to experience the King’s garden in such a private and unhurried way.
We shall begin this enchanting afternoon with a private, guided tour of the Garden, accompanied by His Majesty’s expert garden guide. From the moment you walk between the impressive pillars at the Garden entrance you begin a journey which reveals one delight after another, each setting giving a glimpse of a wonderful English garden, underpinned by the King’s personal taste and philosophy. While various fine gardeners, including Lady Salisbury, Rosemary Verey and Dame Miriam Rothschild, made contributions, the King humself is hands-on: notwithstanding the small army of gardeners, it is he who makes the decisions.
And as the King says, ‘I have gardened to a certain extent from a painter’s perspective. Each part of the garden is a separate “painting”, the result of ceaseless walking, ruminating and observing those moments of magic when the light becomes almost dreamlike in its illuminating intensity. It is in those moments when you are lost in wonder that such beauty is possible and inspiration can come …’
When the King speaks of the ‘excitement’ of the garden, and how the longed-for arrival of a particular plant ‘becomes a treasured feature of one’s existence’, it is clear that the garden holds deep meaning. This, after all, is his own home garden. As the King says, ‘The Garden is an expression of what I hold dear.’ To understand the King, what makes him tick, how he works, his deep loves, private passions and quiet reflections, the Garden at Highgrove is where the King’s soul is laid bare. It is also a measure of the practical King: here are broad visions and also minor details, ideas with which to transform our own gardens, or simply to enjoy the beauty of an English garden and the creative spirit behind it.
June is the time for roses at their most abundant, for drifts of foxgloves and delphiniums in the herbaceous borders, and for the wildflower meadow to shimmer with life—while, in the shaded calm of the Stumpery and other deeply personal spaces, one senses the King’s enduring vision of harmony between Nature and design. And this year we shall see among the new plantings The King’s Rose, a variety created in celebration of His Majesty’s enduring passion for the garden.
Highgrove, as with all great gardens, does not reveal its charms all at once. Each garden room contains its own private pleasures, then takes the viewer on to the next scene, with the House sometimes the focus, at others glimpsed through the trees. Close at hand are the Terrace Garden, the Cottage Garden, Thyme Walk, Lily Pool Garden, Sundial Garden and Chelsea award-winning Carpet Garden. Farther afield, the Walled Garden, the Model Fruit Garden, Cutting Garden, Azalea Walk, Lavender Orchard, Southern Hemisphere Garden, Woodland Garden and Arboretum. Among the characteristics of these gardens there is humour: as in the Ego Garden. And pathos: the memorial to Her Majesty The Queen Mother. Strong architectural features: the Temple of Worthies, The Sanctuary (which is indeed treated as a sanctuary by the King) and the Wall of Gifts. Some eccentricities: The Stumpery, for one. National treasures and rarities abound. Highgrove hosts national collections of hostas and beech trees, among others.
Says the King: ‘I have done my utmost to create a kind of archive of rare and endangered fruit, vegetables, trees and plants—which, I hope, will help in a small way to preserve the essential biodiversity on which, ultimately, our survival depends.’ Many English rarities are grown, including varieties now virtually extinct. Underlying it all is the King’s deep-felt conviction that his garden must be self-sufficient, with emphasis on water conservation, green waste recycling, natural pest control and organic fertilisers. As such, the garden works on all levels: beautiful to the eye of any beholder, and an inspiration to gardeners wishing to benefit from the King’s experimentation over more than three decades.
Wildlife thrives in this environment; from songbirds to dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, newts and bumble bees. The King is justifiably proud of his Garden. Heady fragrance is everywhere, scenting the air from all angles—even the Kitchen Garden is scented, with gloriously fragrant sweet peas for the House, alongside the early crops for the King’s table—the rows and beds of vegetables: sweet carrots, lettuce, beetroot, spinach, rhubarb and peas that look too beautiful to pick. A tunnel trained with apple trees deceptively releases the scent of apples, which actually comes from the Sweet Briar Rose (Rosa rubiginosa).
Inspired by the Garden, our appetites whetted by the scents of flowers and herbs, we shall return to the Orchard Room to toast the occasion with a chilled glass of Highgrove Champagne, heralding the delicious sandwiches, scones and cakes of the famous Highgrove Afternoon Tea.
This will be an enjoyable, memorable afternoon—and at the exclusive price for our Members of only £129 per person, including VAT. We know this will be a popular Members’ event, and numbers are necessarily limited, so please don’t delay!
Private Visit to Highgrove Garden & Champagne Afternoon Tea — £129 per person Private Visit with overnight stay at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa
Book our Private Visit to HM The King’s Garden at Highgrove—and, if you wish, extend your stay in the Cotswolds
To reserve your place, please select from the following options:
Book the Private Visit
View details & book with Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, 1 night
Event timings:
15:30 Arrive at Highgrove for security checks
15:45 Private Garden Tour commences
17:15 Champagne Afternoon Tea is served
18:00 Carriages
This private visit is offered exclusively to Members of CountryClubuk. Those not yet Members are warmly welcome to apply for Membership in order to take part.
As numbers are necessarily limited, early reservation is recommended.
PLEASE READ: CountryClubuk Club Rules and Terms and Conditions