Built in the late 18th century, Highgrove and its estate were owned by various families until it was purchased in 1980 by the Duchy of Cornwall from Maurice Macmillan.

The gardens of the late-18th-century home were overgrown and untended when Charles first moved in but have since flourished and now include rare trees, flowers and heirloom seeds.

The house and gardens are run according to the King's environmental principles and have been the subject of several books and television programmes.

Gatcombe Park, the country residence of the King's sister, Anne, Princess Royal, is 6 miles (9.7 km) away, between the villages of Minchinhampton and Avening.

In addition, the King's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, bought nearby Nether Lypiatt Manor shortly after the duchy purchased Highgrove,[5] although he sold it in 2006.

The house is one of several sites designated under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 that are protected by law from criminal trespass,[6][7] a high stone wall surrounds the estate, and in 1983 the duchy and the chief constable of Gloucestershire supported the moving, for security reasons, of two public footpaths that ran close to the house.

[8] Several people have been arrested near Highgrove since the King's occupation, including two French journalists[9] and a photographer from The Sun.

In 1850 his granddaughter Mary Elizabeth Paul died after her gown caught fire during a soiree held for her brother in the ballroom.

Macmillan sold Highgrove so he could spend more time at Birch Grove, his father's West Sussex home.

At the time of its sale Highgrove was described as a "distinguished Georgian house standing in superb parkland in the Duke of Beaufort's hunt" and possessing 347 acres (140 ha), with nine bedrooms and six bathrooms.

The estate was also run by a board of trustees, appointed by the government which was seen as a disadvantage to any future changes the Prince of Wales wished to make.

The Royal Family are rather short of residences and the prince only has a set of rooms at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle that he can use...when you are 31 you want a place of your own".

Two former members of Highgrove's staff, butler Paul Burrell and housekeeper Wendy Berry, have chronicled their time at the house.

[26] Berry's 1995 book, The Housekeeper's Diary, detailed her time at Highgrove from 1984 to 1993 and it was the subject of an injunction from the High Court.

[30] In January 2023, it was reported that the Orchard Tearooms at Highgrove House would be open to the public every Tuesday as a part of the Prince's Foundation Gloucestershire Winter Warmers initiative, which was set up to tackle loneliness and isolation in cold weather by providing warm spaces.

The house is a rectangular detached three-storey building made from ashlar blocks with a stone and slate roof.

[14] In 1893 a fire caused severe damage to the house, and it was rebuilt to its former appearance in 1894 by the Bristol architect John Hart.

Poplak's obituary in The Times later described his decorations for Highgrove as "...a youthful variant of the chintzy country-house look that was seen everywhere that year..." with a palette of clean fresh colours – plenty of lime green and aquamarine – he created a gentle relaxed mood with no flights of fancy other than the odd experiment with interesting textures".

[48] The King has described his efforts as representing "...one very small attempt to heal the appalling short-sighted damage done to the soil, the landscape and our own souls" and has written that "Some may not like it, others may scoff that it is not in the 'real world' or it is merely an expensive indulgence.

[56] The gardens were the source of inspiration for the British composer Patrick Hawes when he was asked to write a piece of music for The King's 60th birthday in 2008.

The resultant piece entitled Goddess of the Woods was first performed on the Prince's birthday in the Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House.

It is named for the stone sundial at its centre, sculpted by Walter Crang, a wedding present to The then Prince and Princess of Wales from the Duke of Beaufort and outside staff and gardeners.

[49] A section of the garden contains busts of people admired by The King, including Debo Devonshire, composer John Tavener, naturalist Dame Miriam Rothschild, poet Kathleen Raine, activist Vandana Shiva, and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres.

[58] Busts of the former owner of Highgrove, Maurice Macmillan (sculpted by Angela Conner), the explorer and confidant of The Prince of Wales, Sir Laurens van der Post (sculptured by Frances Baruch), and pilot and psychiatrist Alan McGlashan are displayed in Highgrove's Cottage Garden, in recesses in a yew hedge.

[59] In 1992, the then Prince of Wales opened the Highgrove retail shops which sell products, including Duchy Originals, for home and gardens.