Princess Anne has had years of experience managing her sprawling 700-acre estate, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, which her late mother, Queen Elizabeth, gifted to her and her first husband Mark Phillips in 1976.
This has meant the Princess Royal has worked out the biggest perks and challenges, including making sure she avoids one poisonous and potentially fatal issue on the grounds.
During an interview, Anne discussed why she has to find a “delicate balance” with one plant, considering her grounds often host equestrian events such as the Festival of British Eventing.
Her estate is home to some “beautiful” plants, she said, according to The Telegraph. She added: “The ones that survive – quite a lot don’t, we live on Cotswold brash which is not popular with plants; but having said that we have beeches.
“You’ve just got to live with what’s there and make sure it doesn’t get overwhelmed. I’m not sure that rewilding at scale is necessarily a good idea – it probably is in corners, but if you’re not careful, you rewild all the wrong things because they are just the things that are more successful at growing.
“My biggest row at home is ragwort. Lots of people think that ragwort is absolutely brilliant because butterflies love it, but it’s not good for the horses [it is toxic]. I would say don’t take all the ragwort out, just where the horses are – but it’s quite a delicate balance.”
Home concerns
© GettyRagwort is a UK native plant with yellow flowers that bloom all summer in gardens, grasslands and meadows. While it is a source of food for many insects, it can be poisonous to horses and cattle when eaten in large quantities.
However, the National Trust website reassured the public that this shouldn’t happen as it tastes unpleasant, so grazing animals would only eat it if there was no other food, or if it was cut along with the grass and made into hay.
The plant is not Anne’s only concern. In a resurfaced interview with Country Life magazine in 2009, the King’s sister admitted: “I do worry that one day we’ll be told that we can’t have organic status any more.
“Even picking up people’s hay and other rubbish from their (horse) lorries could threaten our organic status. And having the great British public tramping around is hardly organic.”
Inside Gatcombe Park
© GettyIn addition to the home office and cosy living, the house has five main bedrooms, four guest bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library, a billiard room and a grand conservatory.
When the Princess Royal and her first husband split, Mark moved into nearby Aston Farm on the estate, allowing him to remain near their two children, Zara and Peter.
Now, Zara has moved into her father’s former home and has the opportunity to be a stone’s throw from her mother Anne and brother Peter’s family homes. They even have a party barn on the estate for celebrations!
© ShutterstockNow, Anne shares her home with her second husband, Sir Timothy Laurence. While the pair don’t often share photographs from inside Gatcombe Park, they did share this snapshot of them watching television back in 2021.
Their modest lounge featured a red two-seater sofa where the pair sat watching sport, while a singular armchair in the same paisley and floral pattern, a coffee table, a flat-screen TV and a Persian-style rug decorated the rest of the space.
© InstagramMagazines, books, papers and family photos filled the surfaces, adding a homely lived-in feel to the space. One sentimental photo showed Princess Anne’s daughter Zara’s christening in 1981.
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