King Charles has made no secret of the fact that he adores his Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove, and one of its big highlights is the award-winning garden. It's a maze of wonder with lots of surprises along the way, but have you spotted the rather eerie feature on one of the walls?
In a new video, shared to the Highgrove Garden Instagram feed on Tuesday, the glorious garden was beautifully showcased. The clips include a look at Prince William and Prince Harry's childhood treehouse with a thatched roof, which was a built for William's 7th birthday in 1989 and is affectionately named Hollyrood after Holyrood House. Other highlights were a temple, a serene water feature, and plenty of perfectly manicured hedges. One of the lesser-seen features was a wall with stone heads perched on top. Quite a striking sight that could be rather eerie come sundown.
In an X (formerly known as Twitter) post from the archives, shared in 2018, the Highgrove team explained the meaning behind these head and shoulder sculptures. The post read: "Something you might not know about the #Royal #Gardens at Highgrove is that numerous busts of people who've influenced The Prince of Wales's life are placed there, from famous composers to environmental activists, in a display known as the 'Wall of Worthies'." The icons include people like horticulturist Sir Roy Strong, as well as architect Leon Krier, who is responsible for Poundbury, Dorset – Charles' landmark project under the Duchy of Cornwall.
Charles' pet tribute
Elsewhere in the garden, there is a life-sized tribute to his beloved pet dog, Tigga, who died in 2002. The pooch was put down at the age of 18 after suffering from the effects of old age, and the monarch was said to be "very sad" about it. The King, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, commissioned an artist to create a sculpture of his dog for his garden.
Artist Emma Stothard is known for her willow and wire animal sculptures, and was honoured with the opportunity. Writing on her website, Emma, who exhibits nationally and internationally, writes that she was "particularly honoured" to be given the opportunity to "make and personally present to His Majesty The King a large-scale portrait of his beloved Jack Russell dog Tigga".
Is Highgrove open to the public?
Yes, Highgrove Gardens are annually opened to the public. If there's one thing I know after writing about Highgrove for five years, it is that the garden is a big hit with royal fans! While the gardens are currently closed for the winter, they will be set to reopen in April 2026. The usual season runs from April to October each year, and visitors can come to wander around the stunning setting. This Christmas, there are also special events happening at Highgrove, including things like festive afternoon tea and Christmas decoration-making classes.