And a reminder: Highgrove is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, not Charles personally. Whoever is currently the Duke of Cornwall is the one who owns/controls the estate. Which is now William. Charles actually rents/leases back the property from him to continue using it while King.
Meaning Highgrove isn’t Charles’s to give away - that option expired on September 8, 2022 when Charles stopped being the Duke of Cornwall upon acceding the crown.
It's another day ending in 'y' while Tom Sykes proves he has no long-term memory.
Tom Sykes has no long-term memory. It was literally just six months ago that The Times did an article on Highgrove, where it was mentioned that Charles signed a lease in 2021 for The Prince's Foundation (now The King's Foundation) to run the Highgrove gardens even after Charles was no longer the Duke of Cornwall. I believe that lease is for twenty years, meaning it won't expire until 2041 or thereabout.
But, hey, neither Tom Sykes nor Martin Robinson of the Daily Mail could remember those simple facts before they busted out stories this morning.
Sykes:
Another day, another suggestion that King Charles III is preparing to make fresh concessions to Harry and Meghan.
King Charles will offer Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex the use of Highgrove, his private, beloved country retreat, should they return to Britain together later this year a bombshell report claimed today.
The offer, reported by the Daily Mail, would be a sensational development if it came to pass as Highgrove is redolent with symbolism as Charles’ sanctuary.
It also, of course, functioned as one of Harry’s main childhood homes.
To open its gates to the Sussexes would be confirmation that the King will not be swayed from the project of reconciliation with his son, even if it comes at enormous political cost, and in the teeth of opposition from his other son, William, who considers that re-admitting Harry to royal circles would be profoundly destabilizing to the monarchy.
Insiders told the Mail, referring to Highgrove: “There’s a good chance that they will stay at a royal residence during a U.K. stay that includes Invictus events if the current thaw in family relations continues.”
The insider added: it would “be difficult for the King to refuse” to open the 2027 Games if his son asked him to.
Charles can't offer what's not his! Not that Tommy Boy is smart enough to realize this before he spat out this missive to his subscribers, but here's the Daily Mail story by Martin Robinson that he was quoting and referring to:
King Charles could offer Harry and Meghan the run of his 'ultra-secure' Highgrove House as an ‘olive branch’ during their likely joint visit to the UK later this year, it was claimed today.
The Sussexes are also expected to ask Harry’s father to open the Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027 if relations continue to ‘thaw’ between them.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, will reportedly join her husband at the ‘One Year To Go’ event at the National Exhibition Centre in July, amid ongoing discussions over whether the couple will be granted taxpayer-funded police protection while in the UK.
‘It seems likely that this will happen. Meghan’s been to the equivalent countdown events elsewhere so it would look strange if she didn’t attend the Birmingham one’, a royal insider has said.
‘There’s a good chance that they will stay at a royal residence during a UK stay that includes Invictus events if the current thaw in family relations continues'.
The insider added: ‘I don’t believe Harry has asked his father to open the Invictus Games in Birmingham yet but it seems likely he will and it will be difficult for the King to refuse'.
Charles and Prince William helped Harry launch his sporting tournament for wounded soldiers in 2014.
The Daily Mail's royal source said that Highgrove, Charles’ beloved home in the Cotswolds, ‘is a relatively short distance down the M5 from Birmingham’ – ideal for a dash there for the Sussexes this summer.
The 'ultra-secure' 18th century property also has a steel-lined panic room, is covered by a no-fly zone and also is surrounded by armed police guarding the King 24/7, forming a 'protection bubble' for Harry, Meghan and their children, if Archie and Lilibet come too.
But the insider added that while Highgrove would be ideal for July: ‘The Sussexes need to stay in a hotel in the city during the Games in 2027’.
More manifesting from Casa de Olive Garden in Montecito. Too bad both Martin and Tommy Boy weren't smart enough to realize how far fetched this Highgrove ploy was by whichever Sussex plant engineered it.
Another source warned that his brother William and sister-in-law Kate will be watching developments carefully – especially if the Sussexes are offered a place to stay at a royal property.
‘You’ve got to remember the Wales’s are running the show now’, one well-placed source said, adding they believe that Charles would be wary of offering them Highgrove in case it upset William.
KCIII can't offer what isn't his, which is why this story was bullshit from the start. Also, who would want to just stay at Highgrove when it's open for visitors, per the lease for The King's Foundation?
But the royal source said: ‘I think there is a wariness in Whitehall and at the palace over concerns that someone in the Sussex camp is using this to put pressure on Ravec to bring back automatic police protection for Harry and Meghan.
‘I think the Sussexes do have a reasonable case to say that when they come back to Britain to see the Royal Family or to promote their charitable interests then they should receive police protection. They can make it easier and cheaper by staying at royal residences within the security perimeter.
‘But what happens if they are over here to make money? Should the British taxpayer stump up for that?’
Meghan’s return to the UK for the first time since 2022 is on the cards, they said.
Harry and Meghan have booked out floors at luxury hotels for them, their team and security detail at previous Invictus Games.
A senior security source with decades of experience in royal and VIP protection said that he also believes the Sussexes’ are ‘nailed on’ to get taxpayer-funded security again.
More desperate manifesting attempts! Why is this so hard for people to grasp? Reading this article in the DM gives the impression that the Sussexes are less likely to get their security wishes than ever before. Everything in this screams desperation!
Except Sykes was and still is too dumb to realize that things are crumbling fast in Montecito! Sykes again:
But for the King, this is a strategic gamble that goes far beyond summer logistics. Taken together with the King’s apparent indulgence of Harry’s ongoing security review, and the conspicuous decision by Prince William to quietly hire a senior crisis-management specialist as the newest member of his PR team, this speculation about Highgrove reads like confirmation that Charles is preparing the ground for a rapprochement.
Friends of William (and much of the British public) will be aghast. They see that the Sussexes have extracted concessions from the King without apology or contrition. From that perspective, offering Highgrove looks like capitulation to Harry and Meghan’s original ask to be half-in, half-out of the royal family, which the late Queen Elizabeth explicitly rejected.
My sense is that the broader pitch—that a reconciliation in such circumstances, father and son reunited on a stage celebrating wounded veterans—is precisely the sort of tableau Harry’s team understands is irresistible to the King, and precisely the sort of public embrace William and his allies regard as madness.
The King’s camp insist nothing has been agreed, but also have notably declined, so far, to rule it out.
The doves point out that Charles loves his son. He is battling cancer, and acutely aware that time is not infinite. He wants to see his grandchildren. He wants, if possible, to heal the rift that will otherwise come to define his reign. From that vantage point, an offer of a bed at Highgrove is not weakness but an attempt to take control of events.
Cue Sally Bedell Smith with some doses of REALITY.
The Duchy of Cornwall is the property of the Duke of Cornwall (ie Prince William). Even if it were legal for William to bequeath the Duchy's Highgrove property to Harry, it's the last thing he would do. (Not to mention that the next Duke of Cornwall, Prince George, will own Highgrove when William becomes king) The best Harry and Meghan can do to live out their Diana fantasy is spend a few nights there. The prospect of a Diana film project seems to be hovering above all these machinations.
I understand that under the arrangement Charles made several years ago, he retained control of the gardens and the gift shop (the money-generating part), and as Duke of Cornwall, William owns Highgrove House, and Charles leases it from him for his use. If that is the case, William would need to give Harry permission to stay in the house. It is not a happy place for either William or Harry.
and
Correct. The King's Foundation receives all profits from garden tours, gift shop sales, and an assortment of courses and events run by the foundation on the Highgrove property, which is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. This money supports the charitable activities of the King's Foundation. Highgrove House is owned by William as the Duke of Cornwall, and King Charles pays rent to the Duchy for an estimated 700,000 pds a year. If the King wanted to offer Highgrove House to Harry as a place to stay as his guest, that would be permitted. If he wanted any sort of sublet for Harry, Charles would need William's permission as Duke of Cornwall.,
Consider the dose of reality that Sally Bedell Smith imparts against last three paragraphs of Sykes's gossip column for the day:
The direction of travel is hard to ignore. If Harry’s security is indeed restored, if Meghan returns to Britain for Invictus, if the Palace continues to resist shutting down talk of a 2027 joint appearance, then the Highgrove offer will come to look like a logical next step.
Whether this latest sally survives contact with public opinion is another matter. The Mail says that William and Catherine will be “watching developments very carefully.”
I suspect that is an understatement, as welcoming Harry back under a royal roof risks entrenching the very fault line that now runs through the House of Windsor—between a King who believes in forgiveness as policy, and an heir who believes, with considerable public support, that some bridges are better left burned.
He's still banking on Harry getting his security back, which isn't going to happen. Sykes still doesn't even understand why THE KP TITANIC hired a crisis manager. He thinks it's related to a theoretical return of Harry & Meghan to the UK. If that were true--which I guarantee you it's not!--then Will & Kate would not suddenly be embarking on a new pr campaign about "the best of Britain" while Kate ditches "cancer" and pivots to "the power of creativity" and "well-being."
Why does THE KP TITANIC need to do subtle yet massive PR shifts when they were confidently pushing William as future king not too long ago? Did everyone forget Jason Knauf waxing poetically to 60 Minutes Australia eleven months ago? I didn't but THE KP TITANIC wants everyone else to forget it. Answer why they need to do a subtle yet massive PR shift, and then you can realize why they hired a crisis manager in an attempt to save their reputations! Except they should have done that thirty-plus months ago but oh well, sucks to be them!
Well, gosh, I wonder why not! It might be due to the simple fact that the story was completely bullshit. The real story is that times are desperate in Casa de Olive Garden in Montecito, but Tommy Sykes isn't smart enough to realize that. Reality kind of ruins all the pearl-clutching hysteria regarding Harry's imaginary security win. I don't expect Sykes to issue any kind of mea culpa later on either. He's got too many paying subscribers to dupe.
Does Highgrove have an emblem or symbol? Something akin to the Pale King's insignia for Hallownest, or the orb of silk for Pharloom?
There is this three petal flower shaped brooch, usually worn around collars or chest of accessories or outfits usually in pale pinkish color. White Magnolia and anyone associated with them specifically have a white one (so everyone in the drawing above would have it because they relate to Alyssum)
It's a very simple one!
(Bonus: while the symbol is the association, the number of gems on the mask that's also present in the doodle is the ranking. Only those working under Queen Magnolia have those and there is always uneven number of them on the mask. Seven gems is the highest rank right bellow the queen who has a crown. How they're placed on the mask can vary)